The Smell of Spices
by Naisa
Summary: First story in Spices Trilogy. Camelot is under deadly attack. Only one person, a mysterious creature hidden away from the world, can help. But as Arthur and Merlin set out on a dangerous journey to try and find her, little do they know how their lives will change forever...Merlin/OC
1. Chapter 1

_Yay Merlin's back! I do love the show. I tried to write this fic like it was an episode on the show, if you know what I mean. The first chapter is kind of like a prologue, don't worry if it makes no sense, it isn't meant to! I hope you keep reading it and enjoy it anyway, reviews are much appreciated (:_

Chapter 1

Feu walked through the dark forest she had called her home for so many years. Everything seemed the same, the ancient trees with long, twisting branches like searching arms, the haunting calls of a distant bird, the deep endless seeming caves and the dark earth that she walked on. But something was different, something new had come, Feu could smell it.

She crept through the forest, trying to work out where the new thing had come from. She soon saw it, lights coming from inside one of the caves, candles flickering and shimmering in the chilling breeze. The smell of incense reached Feu's nostrils, she recognised the lights and the smells, she had encountered them before, and had heard many stories about them when she had had company in the lonely forest.

The Seer was here.

Feu crept into the cave, trying to keep as silent as possible, the constant drip, drip, drip of water from the roof of the cave covered her quiet footsteps. Feu didn't have to go far into the cave before she saw the Seer.

The Seer was like all Seers were pictured as, old women, with wrinkles and the occasional mystical tattoo covering the face and with long grey hair that still had flecks of brown in it, but they were quickly fading. The Seer was sitting behind a round table; she was reading tarot cards, turning each individual cared over in front of her and peering at them closely. Feu could hear the Seer's bangles jingling every time she moved her hand.

The cave walls were surrounded by brightly coloured cloths from all over the world, this particular Seer was well known for doing such things, as if each individual one carried a memory or a story. The cloths reached all the way up to the ceiling and were surrounded by candles and burning incense. This couldn't have been set up so quickly by such an old person, it must have been magic, but that didn't surprise Feu.

As Feu crept further into the cave, the Seer suddenly looked up, her sharp, dark eyes looked straight at Feu, and Feu had the unpleasant feeling that the old woman was looking right into her very soul. The Seer looked into Feu's face and smiled, showing a mouth with almost perfectly straight and white teeth, such a thing was not common with old people.

"You have changed so much since we have met, but the fire still burns bright in your eyes, little Feu." She said.

Feu tried to smile, but she felt nervous, and she didn't like things that made her nervous. The Seer beckoned her forward and gestured her to sit down on the chair opposite her. Feu made her way slowly over to the chair and sat down, her eyes never leaving the Seer as she collected up her tarot cards before turning her attention back to Feu.

"You seem afraid of me Feu, last time I saw you you were a fearless creature, what has changed?" The Seer's voice didn't seem to fit with the old face, if you had just heard her voice, but not seen her, you would have thought you were talking to someone in their forties, still strong and confident, not someone who was rumoured to be over a hundred years old.

"Nothing has changed Seer, but it is said that whenever you appear to tell the future, or right the past, little good comes out of it." Feu said.

"I regret to say that the rumour is true," the Seer replied, she didn't sound surprised that Feu had said this. "I usually bear bad news, I do not like it, but I have no choice, it is something I must live with. You should know, you have your own traits that you must live with, all alone within these dark trees."

"Why have you come all this way?" Feu asked, ignoring what the Seer had just said, she could feel Seer's eyes piercing into her.

"I am looking at the answer my dear, you have proved of great interest of late and as the future I have been predicting is _your _future, I feel that you need to know." The Seer explained, but she sounded slightly troubled.

"What is it?"

"In a week, or maybe only a matter of days, two young men will come to this forest and find you. They need your help."

"What do they need me for?" Feu asked, confused and slightly worried. "Who are they?"

"None other than Prince Arthur and his loyal servant and sorcerer, Merlin. Surely you have heard of them? The great legend may not have occurred yet, but still they are well known among creatures of magic, and even those who do not posses such a talent, or such a curse."

"I do recognised the name." Feu said slowly, "Arthur Pendragon?"

"Who else?" The Seer smiled, but it wasn't a very comforting smile like before, Feu didn't like it.

"Why are they coming to here of all places to find _me_?" Some people may have felt that being visited by a Prince and great wizard would be an honour, but Feu felt cautious. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

"They need your help, Camelot is under attack from a beast that only you will be able to save them from. So they will come and ask for your help."

"Why me? Can't they stop the beast themselves?" Feu demanded.

"It is not their fault they cannot stop the beast, and it is not your fault that you are the one who can destroy it. It is merely because of your species."

"And I agree to help them?"

"Why would you not? If nothing is done, Camelot will fall."

"Camelot has nothing to do with me," Feu replied harshly, she had heard bad things about Camelot under the rule of a King who saw himself just, but was cruel.

"Maybe not, but if you leave Camelot to be destroyed, a lot of innocent people will die. Men, women and children," the Seer raised her eyebrow. "And you couldn't let that happen, could you? You make people think you have a heart of stone, but you are a good person."

"So it doesn't sound like I have a choice," Feu mumbled grumpily. Although she didn't particularly like living on her own in the forest, she didn't like the thought of strangers coming and pulling her out of one of the few places she felt safe.

"You would if you had no conscience." The Seer said sternly.

"And that's it?" Feu asked cautiously.

"Yes." But the Seer broke the eye contact for the first time, and looked down at the cave floor. Feu's eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"No that's not all." She said harshly, "what else?"

"You will play a key part in saving Camelot, everything will change for you, even before you reach Camelot your whole life would have been turned around, and perhaps Merlin and Arthur's too. But there is no place, no mention of you in the legend." The Seer looked up at Feu again, and her eyes were sad. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Feu jumped up from her chair and backed away, her heart suddenly filled with fear, the look in the Seer's eyes, and the sorrow in her face, suddenly made everything clear. "No," she said slowly, shaking her head. "No, I can't die. Not yet, you can't let this happen!"

"There is nothing I can do, I see the future but I do not create it."

"But I can't die, I'm still young, you don't understand!"

"At least you will leave this world young, and not have to face the harshness of life, of other people, of becoming old and no one wanting you." The Seer snapped suddenly.

"I have never been wanted!" Feu almost shouted, her eyes suddenly flashed bright green.

"There's no point getting angry with me, Feu." The Seer said, calm once more. "I cannot change what is about to happen, and neither can you."

"I don't want to die! I don't want to help Camelot, I don't care about that place, they hate people like me, and it's not my problem! They won't find me, I will not go with them!" Feu cried, and suddenly she turned and ran out of the cave, disappearing into the depths forest.

The Seer watched Feu leave as quickly as she had appeared, there was no point trying to go after her, she was fast and knew the forest better than anyone else. The Seer had already sent her message, there was no point wasting her energy going and trying to comfort the child. Feu would calm down by herself, and then she might be able to see sense.

"You do have a conscience," the Seer murmured into the silent cave as if Feu could still hear her. "You will think twice, and you will go with them. I know that for certain."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Merlin could see nothing but the endless burning flames of another endless, burning night. A great shadow swooped over him, and he threw himself onto the ground out of the way as he heard a terrible cry. They great winged beast hurtled down, crashing into a nearby building and then rising up again, unhurt. The creature seemed indestructible and wanted to do anything in its power to destroy the city and take the people down with it. Every night more people were reported missing, last seen in the claws of the great beast, and never to be seen again.

The creature had come out of nowhere, Gaius said that it had probably come from another feeding ground, like a poor defenceless village, and had now come here to have another grand feast. It would never give up.

The worst thing was, they didn't even know what the creature was, and therefore had no idea of how to defeat it. The great black shadow of the monster, suggested that it may be a griffin, but they had encountered griffins before, and this was different, and in the dark not even Gaius knew what it was. Merlin had suggested to him that he used magic to find out, but of course the idea was immediately turned down, followed by the words 'too dangerous' and 'execution'. Despite this, Merlin knew he had to do something, anything, or else the whole of Camelot may be destroyed.

Merlin pulled himself up from the ground and stood there, thinking about what he could do, and replaying the last few days in his head. The loss, the fire, the destruction, the blood, the screaming…

"Merlin!"

At first Merlin ignored the cry of his name, it was only distant, he had more important things to worry about. But then more voices joined it, and grew louder:

"Merlin! MERLIN TURN AROUND!"

Merlin did turn around, and saw in the distance, illuminated by the flames, three figures, Arthur, Gwen and Gaius. They were crying out to him. He looked up and saw the winged creature turn in the sky and hurtle itself at him. He couldn't see the beast's eyes, but he imagined they were fixed on its next victim, and its next victim was him.

"MERLIN RUN!"

Merlin didn't need telling twice. He turned and ran.

Merlin was surprisingly fast when it came to running away from giant, flying monsters, but the giant, flying monster was faster. The creature was also cunning, Merlin thought, as he found himself being herded towards the collapsed and burning houses. He had to find somewhere to hide.

Quickly, he changed direction and ran towards a cluster of buildings that had not yet been destroyed, followed by the cries from his friends and the shrieks of the winged beast. Ahead of him, stood a building that had been badly scorched on one side by the flames from nearby buildings, but remained standing. The building was made out of stone and looked like a pub, Merlin had lost sight of the creature as it soured up into the darkness, but he could still hear it. This may be his only chance.

Merlin ran to the building, wrenched the door open and dived inside, bolting the door shut behind him, though he doubted it would do much good. The creature gave another terrifying shriek, and then fell silent.

Merlin stood there, motionless, his heart thudding in his ears, wondering whether the monster was still outside, waiting for him to come out, or maybe it had truly lost him and flown off to find some easier prey. Merlin looked around him, the room he stood in was completely empty and very dark, he could just about make out shapes in the darkness, which must have been tables and chairs. He imagined he might be in a pub of some sort that the beast had emptied of life and laughter.

The silence hung in the air, eerie and untrustworthy. Had it truly gone? After what seemed like hours, though it was only a few minutes, Merlin wondered if he dared to go one of the windows on the side of the building and look outside, to see if the beast had disappeared.

Just then, there was a terrifying crash.

The roof shook, for a moment Merlin thought the building was going to collapse, he could hear the tiles sliding off the roof. Another shriek echoed through the empty air, almost deafening him.

The creature was on the roof.

A huge, feathered head with black eyes and a beak poked through the window opposite Merlin, who was frozen with fear. The creature looked at him closely, head cocked to one side, as if wondering what Merlin was doing in there and how it was going to get him out. Merlin quickly gathered his senses and looked around, there was nothing he could use to protect himself, only a few flimsy tables and chairs. The only thing he had were the words in his head.

He raised his hand and a ring of gold flashed in his eyes; suddenly he held in him an immense power and the feeling that he could defeat anything and everything. A bright, blinding blue light shot from his hand and hit the creature straight in the face as he shouted some magic words. It took the beast by surprise; it squawked and jumped off the building, shaking its head angrily. But it wasn't injured, just irritated. Merlin could see it out the window, standing there, staring straight back at him, eyes ablaze. With a terrible shriek, it threw all its weight onto the building.

Despite the fact that no one had ever seen the creature in the daylight, it wasn't hard to realise how huge the creature was, and with size came power. It didn't matter that the pub Merlin was standing in was made of stone and stood fast in the ground, to the beast it was simply a rock, and Merlin was the small beetle under it that the creature urged to squash.

The impact of the monster's huge body shook the whole building, the wall collapsed and the ceiling caved in. The sound of everything crashing into each other was deafening. Huge pieces of stone from the wall and wood from the ceiling cascaded down on Merlin, it was so sudden he barely had time to move. He managed to dive out of the way as a large rock flew at him, but he wasn't fast enough to avoid the plank of wood, that came crashing down on his head. The force made him crumple to the ground.

Merlin sat there, shocked and dazed. The whole world seemed to tremble and blur, there was a strange ringing in his ears. Blood trickled down the side of his face and a cold breeze whispered past his ears. The roof lay in front of him, nothing but a pile of remains, the creature stood before him, hardly shaken by what it had just done. Merlin was literally sitting out in the open and easy prey.

Suddenly, there came the sound of running footprints and the cries of voices. Some people were running towards him with burning torches and shining swords. As they came closer the creature backed away in alarm, it seemed to decide that perhaps there was some easier prey to eat that wouldn't fight back. It spread its huge wings and took off into the sky, disappearing out of sight.

At first Merlin didn't recognise the figures as they approached, but as they came closer he identified the worried faces of Gaius and Gwen, and the frustrated face of Arthur.

"Merlin? Are you alright?" Gwen asked, rushing over and bending down beside him.

"Err…yeah, I think I'm OK." Merlin mumbled, looking up into her face, her voice didn't sound right, it seemed to echo through his head and it took a while for the words to be processed so they made sense to him. "I hit my head." He added.

"You never listen to anything I say Merlin!" Arthur said suddenly, he stood over Merlin and looked very angry in the burning light of his torch. "Next time I say run, you run!"

"Leave him alone, he's hurt." Gwen snapped. Gaius bent down beside Gwen to look at Merlin's wound.

"You sound funny." Merlin grumbled, gingerly rubbing the back of his head and looking up at Arthur bleary-eyed. He batted away Gaius as he tried to look at the wound.

Arthur glared at him, but didn't reply; instead he turned and stormed off, muttering something under his breath about useless servants and brain damage.

"Don't worry about him Merlin," Gwen told him gently, "he's just agitated because he was so worried about you. We all were."

"You sound funny too," Merlin said, smiling at Gwen and gritting his teeth through the pain.

"We should get you back to the castle Merlin, that wound doesn't look good," Gaius said, looking concerned.

"I'm fine." Merlin tried to tell Gaius.

"Don't even try," Gaius muttered. "You'll be safer inside as well, who knows when that beast is going to come back."

Merlin knew there was no point arguing, he just nodded in agreement and then sorely regretted it as the pain pounded through his head. Gwen slowly helped him up and they walked back to the Castle through the flames of a dying Camelot.

Just to say that at the moment there is no relationship between any of the characters in this fic…but things can always change…however it's not going to be a Murther. Wish I could write as well as the writers on show, but hey ho I try my best, reviews make me happy (: 


	3. Chapter 3

_This fic is set in the time before Morgana was found, as you shall see in a moment. Please review (: _

Chapter 3

The Castle had changed dramatically over the past few days. Some of the towers were close to collapsing because of the number of times the creature had smashed itself into them. The great stone steps leading up to the entrance were crumbling away and many of the windows had been smashed. But the biggest change was that the great Hall had been transformed into what could be only called a large hospital. All around there were men, women and children burnt or bleeding, lying on hard beds and groaning or crying. The few people who were relatively unhurt were caring for the injured, but as the days went by they were continuously outnumbered, vital medicines were starting to run out and many of the sick could no longer carry on. They would be buried in the morning.

Merlin soon found himself fed up, he didn't want to spend all his time lying on this uncomfortable bed, there were people who needed more help than him. He sat up looked around, watching Gwen and Gaius running around trying to help as many as they could, a long with a few of the servants from the castle and some guards that were off duty, Arthur soon appeared as well and offered to lend a hand.

The King hadn't been seen in a while, he had shut himself away with some of his best soldiers to try and work out how to stop the creature. He probably didn't like the sight of his own City crumbling away, and there seemed to be nothing he could do about it. When Arthur wasn't trying to help the people or kill the best, he found himself standing in the same room with his father, most of the time ended up joining in with the pointless arguments between the King and his soldiers. They were getting nowhere, for once it seemed right for Uther to feel so paranoid about his people's loyalty, soon they would lose trust and faith in him as the days went by and the beast still lived.

For a moment, Merlin tried to spot Morgana through the crowds, he knew she would be there, trying to help as best she could. She had always been a caring person and always wanted to help as much as she could. But then he remembered that she was no longer here, Morgause had taken her away. No, Morgause had done worse than that, she had changed her, made her believe that Uther deserved to be killed, that was why she was gone. But Merlin couldn't stay angry at Morgana or Morgause for long, a pang of sorrow and guilt swept over him at the thought that Morgana was gone, he may never see her again, she may not even be alive, and it was all his fault.

Merlin might have continued to sit there all night, lost in thought, if it had not been for Gaius who had come over to ask how he was.

"I'm feeling better now." Merlin mumbled, but in fact he felt worse. The pain in his head had subsided a little, but now sadness, worry and remorse had replaced it. At least now he could hear things properly and his vision was back to normal.

"Drink this, it will make you feel a bit better," Gaius told Merlin, who probably knew that he was partly lying, he handed him a small bottle filled some sort of thick yellow liquid, it smelt as horrible as it looked.

At first Merlin refused to have it, and tried to convince Gaius that someone else probably needed it more than him, but Gaius refused to believe and in the end Merlin gave in, he no longer had the energy to argue.

"At least some good came out of what happened to night." Gaius said, after Merlin had swallowed the liquid and finished pulling faces of disgust.

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked, not sure if anything good could come out of the nights Camelot had been through. He rubbed his tongue on his sleeve to try and get rid of the horrible taste that still lingered in his mouth, he didn't dare ask Gaius what had been in that potion, but it seemed to helping with the still lingering pain in his head.

"The creature managed to stay still for long enough and close enough to the light that I managed to get a good look at it. I think I might know what it is, which will help a great deal. I need to check in my books, but now we know what it is, we might be able to find some way to stop it."

"When you do, I might be able to help," said Merlin in a low voice.

"I really hope you're not suggesting magic!" Gaius hissed angrily before Merlin had even had chance to finished his sentence.

Merlin nodded. He was finding it harder and harder to stand by while the Kingdom suffered, knowing he could do something.

"You must have hit your head harder than I thought." Gaius sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I knew you would turn my offer down, I just want to help." Said Merlin, looking down at his feet.

"I know Merlin, but using magic to kill the creature will just lead to you being killed as well! And I will not let that happen."

"The creature isn't affected by magic anyway," Merlin continued, "I've already tried."

"You what!"

"It was in self defence!" Merlin argued, but he lowered his voice more just in case someone over heard. "But nothing happened, I just made it angry."

"You can't solve everything with magic Merlin."

"I know," Merlin sighed, annoyed. Why couldn't Gaius understand that he was only trying to help? And why wasn't he worried about the fact that the creature treated his magic as if it was just an irritating fly. "Someone had to try and stop it, nothing's working. The thing only comes at night and seems indestructible, Arthur and his soldiers seemed to have tried everything, but nothing's happening! We have to do something."

"Don't worry Merlin, if the creature is what I think it is, I might have found a solution, but I cannot be sure until I have checked." Said Gaius, but Merlin could tell he was reluctant to leave.

"Then you'd better go and find out," said Merlin, standing up. "Don't worry, I'm fine, I can help people while you're gone."

"Thank you Merlin." Gaius said hurriedly as he turned and hurried out the great Hall.

"So you're still alive then." Said a voice behind Merlin.

"Yep, unfortunately for you." Merlin grinned as he looked round to face Arthur.

"There seems to be no way of getting rid of you, I might just have to do it myself one of these days." Said Arthur, and for a moment Merlin thought that he was being serious, but then he smiled. "On second thoughts, maybe not."

"Why? Would you miss me too much?"

"No! However a servant who can actually polish my boots properly is surprisingly hard to find." Arthur admitted.

"And you would miss be a little bit," Merlin added.

"What were you doing out there in the first place Merlin? I think I recall Gaius telling you to stay inside the castle." Said Arthur, ignoring what Merlin had just said.

"I couldn't just stay inside, I had to go and do something!"

"Whatever you say Merlin, but suicide isn't going to help anyone!" Arthur sighed, he too seemed to have also lost the energy to argue. He did look tired, he spent most of the night trying to fight the creature and help those who were injured, and spent most of the day with King Uther, trying to find out other ways to stop it. "Where did Gaius go?" He asked suddenly, looking up at the crowd of people. "I thought I just saw him leave."

"He says he might know what the creature is now, but he's just going to make sure." Merlin explained.

"Thank goodness," Arthur sighed, "we might be able to be rid of whatever it turns out to be by the end of the week."

And with that, the two turned back to trying to help those injured. There was no need, nor any more time to have a conversation.

Merlin was used to being put under pressure by Arthur and Gaius, with all the chores he had to do, but he wasn't used to this. There were so many things to do; so many people calling out for aid, so much shouting and crying, everyone was so tired. Fear and tension hung in the air, everyone could feel it.

Soon Merlin was wishing he had stayed on his bed and perhaps tried to get some sleep. The place was full of noise and people, he found himself growing hot and tired, his head still throbbed and he was finding it difficult to do the simplest of tasks. Everyone was getting worried and stressed, it seemed like the night would never end, every now and then someone else stumbled through the doors after being rescued from under the rubble of their own homes. Merlin soon forgot about his own worries, about Morgana and even about Gaius.

The nights were lasting long now in Camelot, longer than the day when people had some peace from the beast. However the sun had barely just begun to rise over Camelot when Gaius hurried into the great Hall with a large book in his hand.

"I need to speak to your father," he said, rushing up to Arthur. "I think I may have found a solution."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

King Uther stood by a window, deep in thought. He watched Camelot slowly burning as the night died away and the sun broke over the hills. Now the beast had left people could put the fires out without fear of being attacked, but of course the things that had already been burnt away could not be saved, and soon the same thing would happen again. Gaius, Arthur, Merlin and the soldiers waited silently behind him, waiting for a response. The first thing Gaius had told him when he entered the room was that he had a plan, but he wasn't going to like it, he should think hard about how many risks he was willing to take. Uther understood this, but he realised, whatever the plan was, could he really let his people of Camelot continue to suffer?

"Anything for Camelot." Uther said, tearing his eyes away from the nightmare at the window and back to the men in the room, "what have you discovered?"

"It is no wonder that I did not realise what the creature was before, when it is mentioned in the book of legends it simply describes the creature as a harmless scavenger." Gaius explained.

"What is it then?" Uther asked, trying to keep his patience, but he was growing tired of waiting for an answer, he had been waiting for this moment for so many days.

"It is called an Opinicus, a close relation to the Griffin." Gaius began, "they have the body of a lion and the head of an eagle, but they have three very noticeable differences. Firstly, sometimes they are born without wings, secondly they have the tail of a camel, and thirdly, they do not eat people." Gaius put down the huge book on a table in front of him and opening it to page where there was a picture of an Opinicus. It did look very much like a Griffin, only it resembled more of a lion than an eagle, and it had a short, thin tail.

"Well this one certainly does." Arthur grunted.

"Exactly, that's what is the most worrying thing. The attack is purely unprovoked, they are known as scavengers and have never had any violent clashes with humans in the past."

"Then why is this one so vicious?" Uther asked.

"Perhaps because this Opinicus is different, perhaps it is driven by hunger or revenge. Many mythical creatures have been attacked and in some cases made extinct by man. This Opinicus probably has no food and is angry because most of its fellows have been killed or driven away. They may have become more violent because they have to, to survive." Gaius said nothing about how it is probably therefore Uther who had brought about this attack, as he had ordered for many magical creatures to be destroyed, but his eyes had an accusing look and were boring into him.

"If it is nothing more than a mere scavenger that has turned to live food, then why are we having such difficulty in killing it?" Uther demanded, avoiding the fact that it was probably his fault that this had happened.

"It is a creature of magic, so probably has many ways to defending itself from any attacks." As Gaius said this, he gave Merlin a quick glance, as if to say _this includes magic I hope you know. _"There is, however, a solution, it's a risky one, but I'm afraid it may be the only solution we have."

"I am prepared to try anything to get rid of this creature."

"Have you ever heard of a Drow sire?" Gaius asked.

"I cannot say that I have."

"Many Drows do not like to be called a Drow, as they see the word as unpleasant, a Drow usually therefore call themselves Does after the female deer, the reason being is that they are slender and elegant creatures, which are mainly harmless."

"Mainly?" Arthur repeated, he sounded unconvinced, and it wasn't surprising. If the Opinicus was meant to be completely harmless, and yet seemed to kill more and more people each night, he hated to think what something that was 'mainly' harmless might be like.

"Don't sound so worried Arthur, they are only dangerous if you make them angry." Gaius said. Merlin resisted the urge to point out that this would probably easily happen if they were around Arthur for too long.

"Tell me more about these Drows, or Does." Said Uther. "How can they help us?"

"The Does look just like humans, only usually they are taller and they always seem to remain thin, this is because they use up much of the energy they get from food quite easily and quickly. They are also fast and vicious fighters when needed to be. The Does are usually peaceful creatures, but they have a very bad temper if aggravated. About a hundred years ago a War started between the Does and the Opinicus, probably over land, as both are very territorial. The War created a great loss of life on both sides and the Does and Opinicus became enemies.

"However, as the random and sudden outbreaks of killing from both creatures continued, they both seemed to give in, as they were meant to be peaceful creatures and wanted to keep it that way. So the two creatures formed an alliance, to continue living in peace, both sides agreed to always trust each other and agree with each other's terms over what they thought was right. The trust went so far that both the Does and the Opinicus do not have a way to defend themselves against each other, as they assumed there would be no need too. For example, if a Doe attacked an Opinicus, despite the fact that they have little magical power, their magic would be able to defeat the Opinicus fairly easily, because the Opinicus have no way to defending themselves, and it is the same the other way around."

"So what you are trying to say, is a Doe will be able to persuade the Opinicus to leave Camelot." Said Uther slowly.

"Exactly," Gaius tried to keep the excitement out of his voice, but his heart, along with all the others in the room, had begun to lift. Finally there was a way to stop this creature. But of course, there was a catch. "Both creatures are very serious when it comes to trust and if a Doe tells an Opinicus that the killing must end, then the killing will end. However, this means that someone will have to go out and try to find a Doe, and you must allow it to enter Camelot and show that you trust it, even though it is a creature of magic."

"It would be difficult to find trust in this creature," Uther began, obviously reluctant to let a creature that possessed magic to enter Camelot.

"But it seems that we have no choice," said Arthur sternly. "If a Drow or Doe, is the only creature that can get rid of the Opinicus and may be able to defeat it if a battle does arise, then it is a risk worth taking. If we do nothing, then Camelot will fall."

"It seems that you may be right Arthur, but we have to keep this quiet, I do not want anyone thinking that magic can now be use freely in Camelot as they please." Uther said gravely, "so how do we find one of these Does?"

"There are very few left around here now, the creatures used to live in groups but are now very solitary. The Does living near Camelot were driven off or killed because they were creatures of magic, but I think that there perhaps one still near by that will be able to help us." Gaius explained, "I have heard of her once or twice before."

"Her?" Arthur repeated.

"Yes, it is a she, but do not think that she is therefore a gentle Doe that will refuse to go anywhere near a battle. She has had a hard life and therefore can be very vicious and greatly dislikes humans because of the way she has been treated, but she has a caring side and will not let innocent people continue to suffer. Her name, is Feu." Gaius paused to let the name hang in the air, Merlin leaned forward with interest now, an outcast because of who they were, like himself, but an outcast who might be able to help Camelot. "Feu does not live in Camelot, last time I heard of her she was living over the mountains and in another Kingdom, in a forest that possesses a lot of magic. She hides there because she feels safest, I met her once and had company, she is not one who would want to live alone and let other people suffer. Offering her company and safety in return to help save Camelot may make her agree to come back to Camelot and get rid of the Opinicus. She is our biggest hope, any other Doe would probably refuse to help."

"Well, we must go and find her then, and bring her back to Camelot." Uther sighed, "it sounds like it is our last option."

"I'm afraid it possibly is, this is the best thing to do Sire, and you won't regret this." Said Gaius.

"How do you propose we find her then?" Uther asked.

"The best thing would be to go to the forest, she is probably still living there, I suggest that you do not take a huge army of men to find her, as large numbers may frighten her and make her suspicious, just one or two men will do.

"But there are a few more things before anyone volunteers for the search to find Feu. Firstly, even on horses the journey is a long one and the forest is very dangerous, there may be hundreds of creatures that are willing to sink their teeth into something new. The land also does not belong to Camelot, but to another Kingdom, another King, who may be very displeased when they hear that someone from Camelot has gone onto their land and in their forest without permission.

"Secondly, when I say that the Does have a bad temper, many will fail to realise what danger they may be in if a Doe gets angry, and when they do it will probably be too late. When Does get angry, they transform. The first warning would be if their eyes suddenly change colour, if they do, the best thing to do is to keep away from them or find some way to calm them down. If nothing is done, the Doe may fully lose their temper, if this happens, they will grow claws and develop fangs, which is what they use to fight off the enemy. It is also a use of self defence as their speed and agility increases and they become more vicious and violent. Suddenly an innocent seeming Doe will become the best fighter and the most dangerous creature for hundreds of miles."

"Perhaps sending someone to find this Feu and bring her back to Camelot will not be such a good idea after all," said Uther, looking concerned.

"I fear that we have no choice. People will be safe around Feu as long as they don't frighten or anger her, and don't try to outwit her. Does hate it when they are treated as if they are dumb."

"I am willing to go and find this Feu, I do not fear her and I am prepared to do anything to help Camelot." Arthur said, stepping forward.

Everyone in the room turned to stare at him, and many of them looked surprised, but Merlin wasn't at all shocked at his decision. _Yep, that's Arthur, _he thought _always trying to help, to be a hero, to save the day. _But for once, this wasn't a criticism.

"Are you sure? Perhaps it would be better if you stayed here, we need you just as much in Camelot." Uther pointed out.

"I know father, but we also need someone who is willing to face the danger and risk their lives to try and find this Doe and bring her back to Camelot safely and quickly. I am prepared to do so."

Uther was silent for a while, thinking about whether it was a good idea to send his only son on a wild goose chase over land that didn't even belong to Camelot and bring back a creature of magic. He turned back to the window, and saw below him his Camelot in ruins.

Gaius was right, he had no choice.

_Beginning to see how it connects with the first chapter/prologue? Don't worry, hopefully it won't be as predictable and boring as it seems. Thanks for the reviews so far, please keep them up (:_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The desperation for saving Camelot was clear by the way that everyone rushed to get Arthur on his journey. By the middle of the morning the sun was high in the sky, and yet it was still bitterly cold with only a small wind that could still bite at your fingers. No one seemed to notice the cold though, they were rushing around collecting supplies for Arthur's long and probably dangerous journey, and within a few hours almost everything was prepared. But Merlin wasn't about to let Arthur go all on his own, when he told Gaius this, he wasn't very pleased.

"Are you sure that's a good idea Merlin?" Gaius asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Of course, I'm meant to protect him after all." Merlin replied as if he had already predicted how Gaius was going to respond to his suggestion.

"But neither of you will do much good if you both go and get lost somewhere in a forest and then get yourself killed." Gaius pointed out.

"You have that much faith in us?" Merlin asked him sarcastically.

"I didn't mean it like that," he sighed, "all I'm trying to say is that this is dangerous and who knows what might happen. I think you would do more good staying here and helping the injured." Gaius replied. They were standing in Gaius' chambers, who was going through the few medical supplies they had left, and considering making some more.

"Do you really think it's a good idea to let Arthur go all by himself?" Merlin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, perhaps if he went with a fellow soldier…" Gaius began.

"But Gaius, I know about magic and in times of need I know how to use it, surely if Arthur is going to be entering a forest full of magic, he should have someone who knows what he may be facing and will be able to defeat it?"

"Even I don't know much about that forest Merlin, and I've been studying magic longer than you. Finding Feu is the only option I can think of, but it's not safe, I didn't even want to tell Uther the name of the forest because that would only make things worst."

"What is the name of the forest?" Merlin asked curiously.

"The Dark forest."

"Oh," was all Merlin could reply to this, Gaius did have a point.

"It was almost created out of magic and born to cause trouble."

"And you're really prepared to let Arthur go alone?"

Gaius sighed and looked closely at Merlin for a moment, deep in thought. Eventually he sighed and nodded.

"Fine," he said. "Fine, perhaps you're right, maybe it would be better if you did go with Arthur. Just don't go and get yourself killed, your mother would never forgive me. I would never forgive myself."

Later that morning, Arthur went to Gaius' chamber to try and find Merlin. Since Merlin had become his manservant, everything seemed to be in the wrong place, or lost completely. It wasn't surprising when he entered Merlin's room and saw the clothes, books and armour all over the floor. Hang on, that was _his _armour he had asked Merlin to clean days ago, and it was still uncleaned. And those were _his_ socks lying untidily on the floor. Arthur sighed and shook his head; he would have to have a word with Merlin about that.

Merlin was in his room, stepping over the mess on the floor and collecting various items and putting them into a leather bag.

"Going somewhere?" Arthur asked.

"Yep," Merlin grinned, "you didn't think I would let you go to that forest all by yourself?"

"What? You can't come with me Merlin!"

"Why not?"

"Alright then, give me three reasons why you think it's a good idea for you to go with me into dangerous forests with little protection and not even knowing what we might be facing. And one of them can't be because you'll try your best not to irritate me like you always do."

"Well, I'm sure you would like some company on the way, and you're used to having someone else trail after you, a few days with no one to boss around would surely drive you insane." Merlin grinned again.

"You're doing it again."

"Doing what?"

"That thing I warned you about just now, about irritating me. Sometimes I wonder if you would be better for my target practice than just a plank of wood." Arthur said, and once more Merlin wasn't sure whether he was joking or whether he actually wanted to start firing arrows and throwing knives at him because he was being annoying.

"I'm not always irritating and useless, and if you take me with you I can carry your things and look after them." Merlin said defiantly.

"Hmm, I'm not sure about that one," Arthur looked down again at his armour on the floor.

"I've been busy," Merlin murmured quickly, seeing what Arthur was looking at.

"All right then, are there any other reasons why you should come with me?" Arthur asked, folding his arms and looking back up at Merlin.

"I'm your friend and I'm meant to go everywhere with you, that's what a manservant is for, isn't it?" He pointed out.

"Hmmm, I still don't know Merlin, do you _really _think you want to come with me?" Arthur didn't think Merlin was the sort of person to volunteer at this sort of thing, especially when they hardly ever got on.

"If I didn't I wouldn't have asked, and I bet I'm the only one whose offered their services. Besides, I think this Doe will need a friendly face when we find her. And I think you'll find I've given more than three reasons, so can I come?"

"What did Gaius say?"

"He said I could go, as long as I don't die on the way, and I promise I'll try my best not to."

"All right then, you can come." Arthur said, giving the same sigh as Gaius had as if he had just lost a battle he knew he was never going to win.

"Yes! Thank you Arthur."

"I don't know what you're grinning about, it's not going to be exactly fun." Arthur turned to leave, but before he did so, he looked back at Merlin. "I guess I could do with some company though." He admitted.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Gaius asked as he watched Merlin haul himself rather ungracefully onto the back of a large, grey horse, which was already laden down with supplies for the journey.

"Yes I'm sure," said Merlin, and for some reason he didn't feel worried about his journey, despite the number of times people had told him over the past few hours that he may be facing certain death on his journey, even Arthur looked pretty grim. But Merlin was feeling positive, as if something good was coming out of it, but he didn't know what or why.

"Take care of yourself Merlin," Gwen said, smiling up at him. "We'll miss you."

"Look after Gaius while I'm gone, he refuses to accept that he's going to miss me." Merlin joked.

"Of course I'm going to miss you Merlin, don't be ridiculous. Just come back safely." Said Gaius.

Merlin was about to promise for about the third time that day that he was going to look after himself, when he heard the clip-clopping of hooves and Arthur appeared behind him, riding on a slighter larger white horse, equally laden down with supplies.

"Said all our sweet goodbyes?" He asked, "we need to get going, a Doe isn't going to wonder into Camelot and offer its services itself."

"Just remember Merlin, the Doe rely on trust, you need to trust them for them to trust you. I've met Feu before when she was a lot younger and I realised then that these creatures are not human, they are wild. Feu means fire Merlin, she will aid you but if you are not careful, she will kill you. That goes for Arthur as well. If her eyes change colour it's a warning that you're in danger and you need to calm her down or else she's turn…nasty."

"We'll be fine Gaius," said Merlin. "I'll see you again soon."

As Merlin turned and followed Arthur out of the castle he was surprised to see how many people who had come out to say goodbye. All the soldiers, the King, friends, family, they were all standing there, waving at him. Only a few people knew why they were going, all the others had simply been told that a solution had been found to stop the creature, and that's what Prince Arthur and his faithful servant were setting out to do.

Merlin waved back at them, wondering when he might see them again, no one had told him how long the journey would take. He turned away from the people and went with Arthur out of the safety of the castle grounds, and into the unknown danger of the wide world.

Apologies if this chapter is a bit rubbish, I didn't have time to read through as I'm going out (and yes, that does mean I'll miss Merlin! ):, I suppose this chapter is to make up for it! ) You'll excuse me if there are more spelling and grammar mistakes than usual! Reviews much appreciated (:


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Merlin and Arthur had been travelling for several hours before Merlin was definitely certain of two things:

One, despite the fact that their mission was both very important and dangerous, he was _really_ bored.

Secondly, he hated riding horses, especially when they were constantly almost at full gallop.

Merlin wondered if it was just him, or the horse he was riding on really didn't like him so was determined to make his ride as uncomfortable as possible. Arthur didn't seem to be having any problems with his horse; he was always ahead of Merlin. Merlin was trying his very best not to start complaining about his journey that had already had a bad start. He knew why they were going faster than usual, this wasn't just an ordinary hunting trip, this was serious.

As they headed through Camelot, past the villages that were slowly getting smaller and smaller, Merlin could see that the Opinicus had also made itself known here as well, even on the outskirts of the great City. Every now and then they saw houses that had been completely destroyed and cattle that had been torn to shreds. There was no one around, they were all too afraid to leave the safety of their homes just in case the beast returned.

Soon there seemed to be more open, untamed countryside than broken villages. The fields full of wheat were slowly given over to wild, empty seeming fields and every-now-and-then a small spattering of a wood. Merlin and Arthur were following roads and paths as best they could, but they were fading fast.

Suddenly, Arthur stopped just before a wide, twisting river on a hill. It was a clear day and you could see from miles around. In the distance, you could see tall mountains and beyond them, you would find the Dark Forest. Merlin was in a daydream and didn't even realise that Arthur had stopped, he just managed to pull his horse to a stop before it walked right into the back of Arthur.

"What is it?" Merlin asked, Arthur hadn't stopped for hours, not even to have something to eat. "We're not lost already are we?"

"No, I know exactly where we're going." Arthur snapped back.

"So why have we stopped?"

"Because Merlin, if you hadn't realised, once we cross this river we will no longer be in Camelot, we will be on land that belongs to someone else, to another King. Unfortunately for us, that King just happens to be King Udin, he's always disliked Camelot but the one thing he hates the most is trespassers, and that's what we're about to do."

"So we've stopped because you're nervous?"

"No! I'm never nervous! This is just significant stopping point, we should prepare ourselves for whatever trouble comes our way, because it will be in all shapes and sizes." An irritated Arthur tried to explain.

"Oh great, so it's not just the creatures we have to look out for," Merlin grumbled. "It's mad Kings as well."

"We'll be fine as long as we stay away from the city and stay in the forests, I expect not even his men dare to go there. No one will know that we are here so we have nothing to worry about."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," said Arthur, but he didn't sound it. "All we have to do is cross the river and go over the fields, which shouldn't be a problem. Hopefully by tomorrow we would have reached the mountains."

"Mountains? Are you sure that's the right way?" Merlin asked, concerned.

"Yes I'm sure, that's what Gaius told me," but once again Arthur didn't sound too sure about what he said.

"Oh, why didn't Gaius tell me the directions?"

"I don't know, probably because he knew that you'll forget them." Arthur replied bitterly, "but I'm sure of what Gaius told me; we cross the river, go over the fields and past the mountains."

"And from there we find the Dark Forest," Merlin finished with a deep sigh.

"The what?"

"That's what Gaius called it." Merlin explained, and then bit his lip realising that he probably shouldn't have told Arthur what the forest was called by the people who lived near it.

"Well that just makes everything seem so much better," Arthur said sarcastically, "and you were worried about getting lost at _this _stage of the journey! It's been easy so far."

"Easy?" Merlin replied, rubbing his backside, which had become increasing sore because of their bumpy journey. "It might have been easy for you."

"Merlin, either you stop complaining so we can go and find a proper bridge to cross this river, or I'll use you as one instead." Arthur warned.

"Sorry," Merlin grumbled, but the way Arthur had snapped at him told him that he probably hadn't found the journey particularly easy so far either. Perhaps he was just worried about what lay ahead and what he was leaving behind.

For the next half-hour or so, Arthur and Merlin paced up and down trying to find a suitable bridge to cross. At one point they stopped to give themselves and the horses a rest and to collect more water for the long journey ahead.

Merlin was starting to feel hot after a long day of travelling in the sun without a rest. The pressure and worry he was feeling to get over the mountains and to the forest was growing steadily as the minutes went by. He wondered if Arthur would have a go at him if he dipped his head quickly in the river to cool himself down. Merlin stared at the calm, clear water for a moment and was almost tempted, but as he looked up he saw that dark clouds were gathering above the mountains. This warm weather wasn't going to last for long, he might as well make the most of it.

After their short rest they continued trying to find a bridge for the next hour or so, walking along the river with the horses in toe. Merlin could tell that Arthur was getting increasingly frustrated, and he knew why. How hard can it be to find a suitable bridge to cross? They were wasting time and energy. At one point Arthur turned around, annoyed, told Merlin that he could see the river stretch on for miles and there was no hope of finding a bridge, so they might as well turn back. Merlin said nothing, he simply nodded as he also was starting to feel worried. Arthur might soon give up completely and actually use him as a bridge.

But then their luck changed, as a voice suddenly broke the long, irritating silence.

"I don' see travellers 'round 'ere much, especially such young, rich men, you seem lost. May I help ya?"

Merlin looked up to see a farmer standing on the other side of the river. He was short, thin and had a grey beard that covered most of his face, two dark, beady eyes peered at them as the old man leaned on a knobbly walking stick. He was smiling at them in a friendly way, showing a wide mouth with many missing teeth. The old man's accent wasn't one that Merlin recognised well, but he had barely travelled to this part of Camelot before.

"Yes," said Arthur, gratefully, "we're looking for a bridge to cross over this river."

"Ah, I see ya problem now young lad, they're not many people who want to cross over this river, but I know where you can find a bridge you can cross. Follow me." The old man turned and hobbled off with surprising speed despite having to use a walking stick, in the opposite direction that Merlin and Arthur had just come.

They followed the old man about half a mile down the river, and Merlin tried his best not to point out that they had been going in the right direction after all before Arthur decided to turn back. Finally they found a wooden bridge, it looked very old and unstable, Merlin wondered if this really was a good idea, especially because of all the weight they were carrying. Arthur too seemed concerned, but the old man assured them that they were quite safe.

"The bridge may seem old, but tha' means it's sturdy," the old man explained, showing once more his many missing teeth.

"If you say so," Arthur mumbled under his breath as he carefully lead his horse across the bridge. It creaked horribly, but seemed to hold the weight; Arthur slowly but surely made his way across the bridge and to the other side.

Merlin, confident that now the bridge was safe, followed. But as he passed over it with his horse and the rest of the belongings, he heard more creaking and was sure he could feel the bridge bend against his weight. Eventually however he made his way across.

"Thank you, we wouldn't have found this bridge for a long time if it wasn't for you." Said Arthur.

"You're much welcome young sir," the old man smiled, "but, may I just ask what young men like you and ya' servant are doin' in these parts. It's not usual ya see an' places like this can be dangerous for strangers."

"We're just travelling," Arthur thought for a moment. "Perhaps you could guide us through these parts, you seem to know where everything is, you could help us. We're willing to pay," he added, "handsomely."

"No I'm afraid I'm not up to much travellin' these days and I'm 'appy to get me money from the land and me sheep. But ya right, I do know these parts quite well, and I'm 'appy to show you which way would be the best to go."

"Well," Arthur looked at the old man closely, then decided to trust him. "We're looking for the Dark Forest."

"The Dark Forest? Only the local calls it that, an' it's not a nice place at all. Dark things 'appen in there."

"We gathered."

"Well alright then, if ya sure that's where ya wanna go." The old man sighed, and then he directed them to go across the fields, to follow the small path on the mountains. When the path stops to just continue straight ahead until the passed three caves, then head East for the quickest way out of the mountains and then they'll see the forest ahead of them, but be careful. Arthur assured him they would and then thanked the old man and offered to pay him again, but once again he declined. Explaining to them that he had to get back to his herd, the old man then turned and left them.

"That was a stroke of luck." Said Arthur happily as the old man disappeared out of sight.

Merlin nodded, but he wondered if telling the old man where they were going was a good idea. "How did he know you were rich?" He wondered aloud.

"He probably guessed from the amount of belongings we had, and the fact we have horses." Arthur suggested, climbing back on his horse.

"But how did he know I was your servant?" Merlin asked, also climbing back onto his horse.

"How am I to know? It's probably obvious Merlin, you should have asked him that when he was here." Said Arthur.

Merlin nodded again, but he still wasn't convinced. He pushed his nagging doubts to the back of his head, and decided that the old man seemed trustworthy enough and he couldn't just stay beside the river forever. They had to keep moving before the day came to an end.

_Finally caught up with Merlin on Saturday, one of the funniest episodes so far, brilliant! Please review (:_


	7. Chapter 7

_Sorry about the delay for an update, please blame my schoolwork, I do! No reviews for the last chapter ): can I have some pleeeease? (:_

Chapter 7

The old farmer stood in front of his King, the knights that stood around him and the bag of coins he had in his hand that was significantly larger than what Arthur would have been able to give him, told him that he had made the right decision. By the time the farmer had reached the city, it was well into the night and he thought he might not be able to see the King, but as soon as he muttered the words 'Pendragon' and 'Camelot' he was rushed to the King, the time of day completely forgotten.

King Udin however, was less sure about whether disturbing him from his late evening meal to see an old farmer was really worth it, he could just be saying these things for money, as many of his desperate people did. His land was crumbling into nothing, everyone could see it, apart from the King himself, and no one was brave enough to point it out. It had been five years since Prince Arthur had killed his son in a fight, and the hatred and anger still lived on. As King Udin grew older he grew more paranoid about his neighbouring ruler, he demanded to know everything about the Kingdom of Camelot, but he had heard little, and he didn't know who to trust. Udin was on the verge of giving up, but he had been assured that this was important information to him, concerning Uther's son.

So the King sat there, on his thrown surrounded by guards and his advisors and listened to what the farmer had to say, his face was expressionless, but his mind was racing. He waited until the farmer had finished before he asked his questions:

"Are you sure this was Prince Arthur?" He asked, looking down at the farmer, who was beginning to look nervous.

"Yes indeed it was, there ain't no doubt about it my Lord. 'E had the royal crest an' he spoke like no other young man I see, 'e spoke like a Prince. I 'ad heard stories about 'im before, an' I seen drawings. I'm good at recognisin' faces Sire; it definitely was 'im. I tell no lie."

"You knew that he was an enemy, but you did not stop them for entering my land," the King pointed out.

"Forgive me Sire, but there was little I could do, they 'ad weapons, I do not 'ave the strength to kill two grown men like I used to. I did as best I could, I made them cross an old bridge in the 'ope that it might collapse, but it didn't."

"But where did you say he was heading?"

"The young Prince wanted to know how to get to the Dark Forest. 'E even asked if I could guide 'im there Sire, O' course I said no. I'm not as mad as people think I am," the old man smiled as if this was some sort of joke only he could understand. "I wouldn't dare go to that forest, besides, I've got animals to look after."

"But you did give him the directions?" King Udin asked suspiciously, wondering if the farmer was in fact a traitor and what he was saying _was _a lie.

"I gave 'im the longest and most dangerous route there is Sire." The farmer grinned, showing many missing teeth. "'E knows nothin' about this land, the Prince won't last a day, 'e couldn't even find a bridge!" The farmer laughed, but it was not a pleasant laugh. It was one that could indeed belong to a mad man, and it echoed off the walls of the crumbling castle.

"The question is, why would Prince Arthur, the son of a King who despises magic, go to a place like the Dark Forest, where magic rules?" Said King Udin, more to himself that the farmer. Even he could not deny that he had let some places in his Kingdom fall into the hands of magic spells and mythical creatures.

"I dunno Sire, I am nothin' but a lowly farmer, I know nothin' of the forest that would have anythin' useful for the Prince of Camelot or any other Prince, there are some nasty things that 'appen in that forest." For the first time since the farmer was put in front of his King, he looked uneasy at the very thought of what might occur in the Dark Forest.

"There is obviously something that they want, but they do not wish anyone to know if only the precious Prince and his manservant went. I have heard nothing about someone from Camelot entering my land."

"I have heard rumours Sire, that Camelot has recently been under attack from a monster, perhaps there is something in the forest that can help them defeat it." Said an old man next to the King, one of his closest advisers. His voice seemed to be tainted with knowledge, but unpleasantness at the same time.

"Well whatever they wish to find, if it is Prince Arthur of Camelot, he cannot have it and he must not leave my Kingdom alive." King Udin rumbled, rage building up inside him like fire, he turned to one of the guards. "Send out a spy to try and find him quickly." The guard nodded gravely and left the room, he then turned back to the farmer. "You may go back to your farm now peasant, if you have nothing else to say, you have been given your reward and I am grateful to you."

"Thank you Sire," said the farmer and was about to leave when the King spoke once more.

"Just one more thing, why did you come here to tell me of this, if what you say is indeed the truth?"

"I am a loyal man of ya Kingdom Sire, I would not betray you and let such an enemy enter this land." The old man's face was serious for a moment, but then he grinned again. "I also need something to pay for my food during the winter."

"Very well, you may leave, but if I find out what you said is a lie, I will hunt you down and have you slaughtered." King Udin warned.

"I understand ya uncertainty Sire, but I have told ya nothin' but the truth." The farmer replied, he then hobbled out the room and out of the castle.

When the farmer had left, the King's old adviser turned to him.

"Are you sure it was really Arthur Pendragon the old man saw?" The adviser asked.

"Who else? He described his exact image as well, and no one would dare lie to me. Especially about a Prince from Camelot, my people know how I feel about that place, and that King." King Udin said, turning his palms into fists and shivering with hatred.

"What is your plan my Lord?"

"I shall send a spy to the mountains to try and find out where they are, and what they are really here for." The King thought for a moment, "that little creature we have locked up in one of the cells will do."

"Are you sure my Lord? We do not know whether it can be trusted."

"It will do as I say, besides, it came from those parts, so will be able to find the Prince and his servant. If they are still alive by the time our spy finds them, and they indeed are heading to the Dark Forest for some sort of purpose concerning Camelot I refused to let them continue. I shall then send some of my best soldiers out there to stop them. I hear that Arthur Pendragon is a good fighter and brave warrior, but I doubt he will be able to defeat my men."

"Very well my Lord, we shall send out the spy tonight." Said the adviser.

Suddenly, for the first time in a month, the King smiled. "By the end of this month," he mumbled, "Prince Arthur Pendragon shall be no more."


	8. Chapter 8

_Enjoy!…No reviews for the past 2 chapters ):…_

Chapter 8

Merlin and Arthur managed to cross over the hills and were at the foot of the mountains by the end of the day. To Merlin's relief, Arthur decided that it was perhaps a good idea to have a rest and wait until the morning before attempting to climb over the mountains. However Merlin found it difficult to sleep, he couldn't get comfortable and his mind was continuously racing, he couldn't stop thinking about what they were about to do, and what they were leaving behind. Every-now-and-then Merlin thought he heard a rumbling growl of thunder overhead, and hoped it was just his empty stomach. He stared up at the tall shadows that were the mountains, and shivered.

The next morning Merlin awoke and felt as cold as ice. Now it was day, he could see the full scale of the mountains. They were tall, huge and menacing, and were a grim grey colour with white tips as sharp as needles. There was no sign of life, there were no plants, and the only animals were birds circling high above him, probably looking for some unfortunate prey. A fresh shiver ran down Merlin's spine, making him feel even colder.

Arthur didn't show any fear in his face at the thought of having to cross the mountains, but he spoke very little as they prepared for the day ahead of them, even the horses seemed uneasy about what they were about to face.

"Do you see a path?" Merlin asked Arthur as they put their supplies on the horses, fed up of having such a long, uncomfortable silence. His limbs ached from riding and whatever he did; he still couldn't warm up.

"There must be one around here somewhere, we'll find it." Arthur replied in a low, monotone voice. He was probably trying very hard not to think of what lay ahead of them.

"They go up pretty high," Merlin said, looking up at the mountains.

"Yes, that's why people call them mountains!" Arthur grumbled sarcastically.

There was no danger of being blinded by the sun that day if you gazed up at the sky, as the sun was nowhere to be seen. The sky was thick with black clouds, blocking out all of the sun's light completely. There seemed to be little difference between night and day. If it was up to Merlin, he would save mountain climbing for another day, but there might not be another day to spare for Camelot, and Arthur showed no sign of wishing to delay their journey.

If Merlin thought it couldn't get any darker during the day, he was wrong, as they left the fields and entered the mountains, all the light was immediately blocked out, Merlin could only just see Arthur in front of him. How they managed to find the path in the darkness Merlin had no idea, but they managed to see it carved into one of the mountains and slowly leading them upwards. It looked nothing like a path and it didn't look safe, and for a moment Merlin could see Arthur hesitating, but there didn't seem to be any other way.

For the first few hours the journey the rain seemed to managed to contain itself in the clouds, and as the path lead them upwards and away from the shelter of the towering mountains Merlin and Arthur were beginning to see more through the gloom. The path still looked nothing like a path and often lead them perilously close to the edge and was littered with stones just waiting to trip up the horses. But the path seemed to be leading them in the right direction and had not lead them anywhere they did not wish to go.

But then the storm came.

The rain pelted down like ice-cold needles, blinding Merlin and Arthur as they stumbled along the edge of a steep looking cliff, the strong winds tried desperately to throw them off balance and throw them into the abyss. The endless noise of the rain smacking against the cliff faces was almost unbearable. Every-now-and-then lightning flashed through the air and the great, terrifying rumbles of thunder followed in quick succession, making the mountain tops shake and the horses rear up in panic. They couldn't ride the horses any more, the path was too narrow, Merlin and Arthur had no choice but to lead them on through the storm.

The rain stung their eyes, the cold made them numb, the winds howled in their ears and they were unable to shout over it. Almost all of their senses had been blocked by the horrific storm.

It was impossible. They couldn't carry on, but there was nowhere that they could hide from the merciless weather.

"We have to stop!" Merlin yelled over the noise of the howling wind and the rain as another clap of lightning seared across the black clouds.

"We can't stop now!" Arthur called back, trying to control his terrified horse as thunder boomed over them.

"Arthur, if we don't stop now, one of us going to get blown off this cliff!"

"But if we stand still for one moment, that's exactly what's going to happen!" Arthur replied sternly, he couldn't look back at Merlin as the wind might knock him off his feet.

"We can't even see where we're going!" Merlin argued back, he could only just see Arthur in front of him, still tackling his horse.

"We're following the path, like we've been doing for the last three hours!"

"I hate to tell you this Arthur, but the path finished about a mile back. We've been following nothing!" Merlin yelled.

"What!" Arthur stopped and risked the terrible wind to turn back and stare, horrified, at Merlin, "why didn't you tell me that at the time!"

"It's hard to even hear yourself think over this storm!"

Arthur came to a sudden halt just in front of Merlin; he heard him curse and managed to shout over the storm what had gone wrong.

"What's gone wrong? I tell you what's gone wrong Merlin; you don't know when to keep your mouth shut!" Arthur roared. "Sometimes I really wish you would shut up, but if you had told me that we were no longer on that path a mile back, we wouldn't be in the situation! But no, you decided to keep that to yourself. And now, thanks to you, we've reached a dead end!"

Another bolt of lightning, and for a moment their faces were lit up and they could see each other clearly through the storm. Arthur's face was a mixture of panic and anger; he was soaked to the skin and shivering with cold and rage. Merlin thought his face probably looked the same, only he felt more scared than angry. Yet another roll of thunder, and another gust of wind…and then a strange crunching noise.

Arthur and Merlin gazed at each other in confusion for a few moments and then looked up slowly as a huge boulder, shaken by the lightning and blown by the wind, came crashing down the cliff side, heading straight for them.

Merlin was first to realise what was going on and was first to react; he had just enough room to dodge out the way as rocks from above tumbled down towards him. Plunged into darkness once more, Merlin could barely see anything, the rain was forcing his eyes shut. He could just make out a dark figure of Arthur standing in front of him, standing just above where the huge boulder was tumbling down.

Why didn't he move out the way? Then Merlin realised, he couldn't, they had reached a dead end. Arthur couldn't get away by running towards him, he wouldn't make it, but he couldn't move anywhere else. He was trapped.

What could he do?

Merlin tried to remain calm, he tried not to panic, and he tried to think as fast as he could. He took a deep breath and watched as time slowed around him. But the boulder was still falling, he couldn't stop it, but surely there was something he could do. There had to be a spell for a situation like this, anything. But Merlin couldn't think, he didn't know what to do, his mind raced over all the books he had read, all the magic he had used. And then a thought struck him.

Merlin's cry echoed across the mountains. His voice was drowned out by the storm but he could feel by the power surging through him that it had worked. The boulder didn't stop falling, but there was a loud crunch as it broke itself into two, three, four pieces. They were smaller now, and less deadly, but they still continued their decent down towards Arthur. Who was still standing directly beneath them.

"ARTHUR GET OUT THE WAY!" Merlin yelled at the top of his voice.

Arthur didn't know how it had happened, but he could see through the gloom that the boulder had broken into several pieces, and for that he was grateful. For a moment he thought he was going to be crushed, there weren't very many times when Arthur had found himself frozen with fear.

Merlin's shout brought Arthur back to his senses, even though there was no longer a huge boulder hurtling towards his head, it didn't mean he was out of danger. There was only one direction he could run and time wasn't going to slow down for him. As quickly as he could, forgetting for the moment his horse and all the supplies, he turned and ran as fast as he could towards Merlin.

But he was too slow.

Arthur felt something large and heavy hit the side of his head, knocking him sideways and making him lose his balance completely. Suddenly Arthur's world fell into utter disarray; everything had gone dark, darker than before. The sound of the rain and the wind had disappeared, he found that he couldn't stand, he couldn't feel anything, in fact he didn't even know where he was. What was worse was the strange sensation as if he was falling.

And then Arthur was plunged into blackness, and he could think no more.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Arthur awoke on a cold, stone floor; with the side of his head pounding. He didn't know where he was, and for a moment he couldn't remember anything at all. Arthur lay on his back and stared up at the darkness above him, as slowly his memory began to recover. The mountains, the endless rain, the cry…

"Merlin?" Arthur tried to sit up, but it made the pain in his head worse, and he decided it was best to stay where he was.

"Arthur?" Came a very quiet reply, "are you all right?"

"I've had worse I suppose, where are you?" Arthur could see nothing in the dark.

"Over here."

"Where's here?" Arthur demanded, irritated as he tried again to sit up, ignoring the throbbing in his head.

As his eyes became accustomed to the dark he saw that he was lying in a cave, and Merlin was sitting near the entrance, he looked pale against the dull light seeping through the cave. He stared at Arthur as if he was slightly afraid of something, and he shivered as if he had caught a chill.

"How did I get here?" Arthur asked.

"I carried you," Merlin muttered, still in an unusually small voice as his bright, intelligent eyes stared at Arthur through the dark.

"Really? I doubt that." Arthur wasn't in too much pain to not laugh.

"It's true!" Merlin snapped. Arthur was taken a back, it wasn't like Merlin to snap like that. "Well, your horse did anyway." Merlin admitted, his voice dropping along with his eyes.

"What happened then?"

"You hit your head and slipped, I managed to find the path and the caves the farmer talked about." Merlin explained. He didn't look up at Arthur as if it was a sign that he didn't want the conversation to continue.

"Are you all right Merlin? You seem, different." Said Arthur, turning his head to one side as if to try and see Merlin in a new light

"I'm fine," Merlin replied, but his eyes said something different. Merlin hadn't told the full story of how Arthur had managed to end up in a cave, mainly because he didn't want Arthur to know.

Merlin didn't want Arthur to know about that terrible moment when he saw Arthur falling, when he thought he had lost his friend forever and he had only just managed to lunge forward and grab Arthur before he fell into the nothingness. He didn't want to tell Arthur about the long struggle that followed, how he had to take care of two horses and an unconscious man over the storm. He didn't want to tell him about how he had lost some of the supplies, most of it food, as one of the horses missed its footing and the contents on its back tumbled down the mountain. He didn't want to tell Arthur about the language that came out his mouth on the journey to the cave, and he didn't mean magic. Merlin had found himself cursing every living thing he could think of that had brought him to this situation of fighting for his life on top of a mountain.

But what Merlin _really _didn't want to tell Arthur, was the fear he had felt, the shear panic and loss of hope as he stumbled along the cliff trying to find the path again, in the pitch dark and in the raging storm. For a moment Merlin thought that he might as well give up, let the wind sweep him away, never to be seen by anyone again, for shame of being defeated by the weather, by ruining Arthur's destiny, his own destiny, for letting everyone back at Camelot down. How Merlin had managed to find the path and the caves was a mixture between magic and pure miracle, and now he just wanted to leave the whole experience behind him. Over the past few hours he had decided he hated heights.

"So, how long have I been here?" Arthur asked.

"A couple of hours maybe." Merlin shrugged, he had no idea of what even the time of day was, but thankfully the storm had passed and the sun was beginning to battle its way through the clouds again, the cave they were in however was mainly shrouded in darkness.

"Well, we better get going then." Said Arthur, sitting up a little more and pulling the blankets off him.

"What?" Merlin looked surprise, as if such a gesture was ludicrous. He shook his head; "you're not going anywhere."

"We may not be in Camelot Merlin, but that doesn't mean you have the right to boss _me _around!" Arthur pointed out.

"I'm not having you falling off mountains again." Said Merlin defiantly.

"I'm fine now!" Arthur protested. "We can't waste any more time!"

"Alright then, stand up."

Arthur tried not to mock Merlin for the simple task he had been given, and he was grateful that he didn't because as soon as he tried to get to his feet his vision blurred and the pain in his head became almost unbearable. What was worse was that he couldn't actually feel his legs, it seemed that they had gone numb in the cold, in the end he gave up and flopped back down again.

"Have I made my point?" Merlin asked.

"All right fine, maybe it would be best if I just gave my head a rest for a few hours." Arthur panted, he suddenly found himself exhausted as if simply standing up had drained all his energy. "But just a few hours, and then we have to get going again."

"Well, it's probably the best I'll get out of you." Merlin sighed, "the good thing is we don't have to face much of the mountains any more."

"Fantastic," Arthur said a little sarcastically, he was beginning to feel irritated already about sitting in a dark cave for hours. "But Merlin?"

"What?"

"If we are going to stay here, and if I'm going to try and give my head a rest, it would be very nice of you if you shut up and stop crouching there like some sort of goblin!" Arthur snapped.

"You didn't hit your head that hard then," Merlin grumbled.

Arthur woke with great annoyance to find that he had let himself fall asleep, he had drifted off just as more sunlight was sifting through the cave entrance, but now he was awake it was dark once more. He glanced over and saw Merlin still at the foot of the cave, also fast asleep, Arthur rolled his eyes, so much for resting for just a few hours. The good thing was his head felt a lot better; it no longer pounded when he tried to sit up and Merlin was being quiet for once.

But the cave wasn't silent; there was a strange noise, like something scratching against the walls of the cave, but there was no other sign of life, not even a tree branch swaying in the wind. Arthur wondered if he was starting to hear things, maybe he hadn't completely recovered from his fall. He peered around the cave and heard a scatter of footprints across the ground.

There was something else in the cave. That was the most worrying thing, it didn't sound like a someone, it didn't sound human at all, it sounded like a…something.

Slowly and as silently as he could, Arthur stood up, grateful to feel his legs again and that his vision wasn't blearing. He felt around next to him for his sword and gripped the hilt.

There was a clattering sound, and something rolled across the ground, stopping just in front of Arthur, he could just make out what it was, a goblet he distinctly remembered packing. The something was searching through their things. He crept closer to where Merlin had put their supplies, and where he could hear strange chattering noises and things being thrown across the floor. Another loud echoed through the cave, making Merlin wake up.

"What the…" he began.

"Sssh," Arthur hissed, putting a finger to his lips, but he doubted Merlin could actually see him.

Arthur crept even closer. He could see it now, a small black shape pulling food and clothes out of the leather pack that they had brought with all their supplies. It was chattering away to itself almost angrily as it looked through their things, Arthur came closer, he was almost on top of it now. He took another step forward…

Suddenly, the creature turned and let out a terrible screeching noise, Arthur was so surprised at what he saw that he took a step backwards.

The creature was like nothing Arthur had ever seen. It was very small, in fact it only came up to Arthur's knee. It was incredibly thin and had long bony arms and legs, its body was a horrible dark grey colour in the darkness. On the top of its bald head were long, pointed ears and its mouth was full of small, razor sharp teeth, what was worse though, were the eyes. They were huge, twice the size of ordinary eyes, and bright yellow, so bright in fact, that they seemed to light up the cave.

The creature let out a high pitched shriek as it looked up and saw Arthur standing above it, sword raised. But before Arthur could strike a blow on the creature it fell on all fours and scampered out the way with surprising speed, it was heading straight for the cave entrance.

Arthur tried to run after it, but something on the ground caught his foot, probably an item of clothing, and he found himself crashing to the ground, knocking all the air out of him. His sword flew out of his hand and clattered to the ground just out of reach. He managed to pull himself back onto his feet, but the creature was almost out of the cave now.

"Merlin!" Arthur cried, "catch it!"

Merlin scrambled to his feet, equally surprised to see a strange small creature with huge yellow eyes running towards him. He put his hand out to try and grab it, but instead he felt nothing but thin air as the creature ran straight through his legs and out the cave, disappearing into the night.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next morning it seemed that Arthur still wasn't prepared to forgive Merlin for letting the creature escape.

The first thing Arthur did after he watched the creature disappearing into the darkness, was to have a go at Merlin, but he found himself doing it in a harsh whisper, as if he was afraid that the creature might be listening in. The creature was obviously looking through their things for a reason, Arthur hoped it was just because it wanted something to eat. After calling Merlin a pathetic manservant in several different ways, (in which he would come to regret in a few days time) he ordered Merlin to stay awake for the rest of the night and make sure the thing didn't come back. Arthur was frustrated that they had overslept and therefore had wasted precious time, but they could go nowhere at night, and his head still ached a little. So he decided to go back to bed.

As soon as dawn broke the next day Arthur woke up and ordered Merlin to pack up their things, they would soon be on the move once more. They had a small amount of bread for breakfast, as Arthur decided to save the food, as much of it seemed to have gone missing. He didn't know if there would be anything safe to eat where they were going, if the forest was tainted with evil, the fruit probably was too. They then set out, making sure they left no trace of them behind. Arthur told Merlin that he would be looking after both the horses today. Merlin assumed that this was some sort of punishment, or maybe Arthur's bump on the head probably made him feel twice as lazy. But after that, Arthur refused to speak to Merlin; he simply strode ahead in complete silence.

Usually Merlin wouldn't mind walking along in silence, sometimes he preferred to be alone with his own thoughts, but today he was irritated. The night before last he had saved Arthur's life and almost killed himself in the process. And where was the thanks? Did Arthur truly have no idea what he might have been through? Merlin couldn't help thinking back to the night before, that terrible, unforgiving rain lashing at his face as he edged his way through the darkness, he had almost lost his footing, he had almost fell into the abyss below him… All that he went through, his heart still in his mouth, and Arthur hadn't even shown a little gratitude. A thank you once in a while would probably make Merlin's job a little easier, but it seemed today that he would be getting none.

The sun was out, but it was terribly cold. The rain from the night before had frozen on the rocks, making it incredibly slippery and dangerous. Merlin continuously lost his footing and found himself sliding back down the slope they had just climbed, or almost falling off the edge, a single tree branch was the only thing that prevented him from plummeting. And yet Arthur didn't seem to care, he didn't look worried at all, he didn't even turn back when Merlin cried with surprise as he found himself hanging off the edge of the cliff.

It was moments like this that Merlin felt like he really hated that Prince, but it was too late, he was stuck with him now.

To Merlin's relief, he could see the mountains coming to an end. He found himself climbing downwards more than up. They were no longer on such high ground, and he could see fields ahead of him trees, a forest.

For a moment Merlin thought what he could see was in fact the Dark Forest, but as they climbed a little higher his view improved, and he saw the actual Dark Forest.

There was no mistaking it, the Dark Forest began just on top of a hill. From where Merlin was standing the Dark Forest looked like nothing more than a cluster of trees. But the leaves of the trees were a dark green colour, so dark they were almost black and seemed to release a terrible sense of foreboding in his heart. The trees didn't really look like trees, more like a solid stone wall. Huge dark birds circled above, as if they were waiting for them.

_Well,_ Merlin thought to himself as he found himself releasing a large breath he didn't even know he had been holding in. _I can certainly see why the people called it the Dark Forest._

But there didn't seem to be any other people about, not even any other animals. They were alone.

"You can't just stand there all day Merlin," Arthur suddenly snapped, breaking Merlin out of his trance like state.

"Sorry," Merlin mumbled, he looked at Arthur, concerned by the fact he hadn't react in the same way when he had seen the forest. "You do know what you're doing don't you?"

"Of course I know what I'm doing!"

"I don't think you do."

"Then don't ask! You're the servant, I ask the questions. Just keep quiet, from now on, who knows what might be lurking around the corner that could hear your annoying little voice. For once in your life do as I say."

Arthur then turned and strolled down the mountain, Merlin quickly followed him. Soon he found himself no longer walking on hard, frozen rock but on tufts of grass and dirt. The horses continuously stopped to nibble on what they could, grateful for some fresh food. They continued to head down a steep, narrow valley, Merlin's feet still slipping on the rocks. He almost slid the rest of the way down, bumping into Arthur a few times, making him glare back at him, but Merlin just ignored him. Finally they reached the bottom of the valley and found themselves entering a clearing, Merlin looked back and saw the mountains looming up behind him. He was happy to be rid of them.

Now that they were no longer on higher ground, Merlin couldn't see the Dark Forest, instead all he could see was another forest ahead of them. This one looked slightly friendlier, well, as friendly looking as forests could get. It seemed less dense and the leaves of the trees were a light colour, Merlin decided he would prefer looking for mystical creatures there instead of any other forest. It seemed almost welcoming compared to the mountains and the Dark Forest.

To Merlin's dislike, Arthur ordered him to get back on his horse; they would be riding the rest of the way until they reached the forest, which of course meant full gallop, and Merlin was sure that his horse was glaring at him. For a moment he considered if he would prefer going over some more mountains, but before he could say anything Arthur was already on his horse and setting off.

Merlin was tired before they set out that day, as he had spent most of the night awake, so by the time they had gone over the fields and enter the forest, he felt absolutely exhausted.

"Can we just stop for a moment?" He asked, grateful that his horse had come to a steady halt, he really hated galloping now. They were in the centre of a small clearing, the trees of the forest surrounding them on all sides.

"Stop? Merlin we cannot stop, we have wasted enough time already, we need to get through this area and then head into the Dark Forest, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can get out and get back to Camelot."

Merlin was too tired to argue, instead he simply grumbled and took the opportunity of Arthur trying to work out the quickest route to the Dark Forest to get off his horse and sit down on the grass, before realising that the grass was still wet. Merlin jumped up with almost a yelp as he felt something cold spread across his trousers, but he was too late, there was already a wet patch on his trousers. For the first time in days, he heard Arthur laugh.

"Some things never change do they Merlin?"

"That's not funny!" Merlin snapped back.

"Oh you'll get over it Merlin, at least the grass is keeping you on your feet, I should get some of that, it will stop you from lazing around all day!"

But before Merlin could tell Arthur that he did not laze around all day, he was the actual one doing all the hard work, there was a strange rustling noise from behind him, as if something was running through the trees around them.

"What was that?" Merlin asked. Arthur didn't reply, perhaps he hadn't heard it.

At first Merlin just thought it was his imagination, but the noise continued, followed by the snapping of twigs. It definitely sounded like footsteps creeping, yet running at the same time through the forest. Merlin tried to follow the noise he had heard into the forest, he found himself wandering away from the clearing and into the trees, but he couldn't see anything.

P_erhaps it was just the wind, _he thought to himself, so turned and went back to the clearing.

To find that Arthur had disappeared.

_Hmm, not such a good chapter this time, I feel I've rushed it a little bit. I promise the fic will get better, you'll just have to be patient for now. Never mind, Merlin's on tonight! (: Please review._


	11. Chapter 11

_Sorry about chapter 10 people, I am well aware it was pretty rubbish, Arthur was a little too mean. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it. Please review (:_

Chapter 11

Merlin looked around him, his horse was still standing there, nibbling on the grass, but Arthur and his horse had disappeared. Had Arthur gone ahead without him, leaving him here all on his own? Or had something worse happened? He might even have been kidnapped!

No that was ridiculous, Merlin shook his head as if he hoped that might dislodge his stupid thoughts. Him and Arthur were the only people for miles around, and if there was someone else who might have tried to attack Arthur, he would have fought back. Merlin would have heard the commotion, and it would have taken more than one person to bring down the greatest fighter in Camelot, and the horse wouldn't have been taken too. Telling himself not to think such stupid things and to do something about his situation other than standing there running his hands through his hair, Merlin decided to go into the forest and see if he could try and find Arthur.

Leading his reluctant horse into the forest, it was surprisingly dense, there was very little you could see through the trees, and the sun seemed to be hidden away once more. Merlin was already starting to miss the sun's warmth as he shivered in the shadows. He hated to think about what the Dark Forest was going to be like, the name said it all.

Merlin looked around, he couldn't see Arthur through the trees, and suddenly he felt horrible alone. He called out Arthur's name, hoping that there would be a swift reply close by, but nothing. Only a scuttle of a bird, or perhaps it was a squirrel, as it hopped from tree to tree. Merlin tried again, but the only reply he seemed to get was his own echo as his cry rebounded off the trees.

Merlin cautiously went further into the forest, he was worried that he might get lost, but he assumed that if he continued to walk straight ahead, he'd be able to find the edge of the forest and get out the other side. But he still might not have found Arthur, and despite the fact that he didn't particularly like the Prince at the moment, he would much rather go through the Dark Forest with some company, even if the company was a grumpy, pompous and arrogant twat most of the time.

For the next hour or so, Merlin wondered through the forest, keeping an eye out for any movement ahead of him, and occasionally calling out to see if anyone would hear, but no one did.

At first Merlin had been worried about Arthur, he could be anywhere, he could have fallen down a ditch for all Merlin knew, but now the worry and been replaced by annoyance and plain boredom. How could Arthur just walk away like that? When would any good come out of doing something idiotic like that? If he'd done something like that he'd…

Something interrupted Merlin's thoughts, he was so busy running over things in his mind he hadn't been looking where he was going, and almost found himself tripping over a tree stump. He stopped abruptly and looked around, despite the fact that the trees all seemed to look the same. Merlin had a strong feeling that he had seen the same trees before, and the very tree stump covered in moss, which he had almost tripped over. He had no idea where he was, the only thing he did know, was that he had been going round in circles.

He was lost.

Merlin kicked the tree stump hard with his foot angrily, then sorely regretted it as pain suddenly shot up his toe. Cursing, he tried to think of what he could do. He had no idea where he was and how to find out where he should go and he didn't know where Arthur was. For a moment he thought perhaps it would be best if he just sat on the tree stump and waited until someone, hopefully Arthur, found him, though he highly doubted this, but in the meantime there was nowhere else he could go.

Merlin wasn't sure how long he sat there, his horse standing in front of him looking equally as fed up, when he realised how quiet it was. Forests around Camelot were usually teaming with life, the sounds of birds, squirrels, foxes, dears, all sorts of things. Before he could hear the sounds of the forest echoing around him, but now it had gone silent and he really didn't like it.

When things were as silent as this forest, the smallest of sounds were easily noticed, and seemed very loud and close. The snap of a twig, for example, which is exactly what Merlin heard as he sat in the still forest. At first he had just sat there, elbows on his knees, face in his hands, but now he sat up straight and gazed around the forest. There it went again, a loud snap that echoed all around, it seemed very close, but Merlin couldn't be sure. At first he thought it was just the horse, however it was standing perfectly still. But there was nothing else that he could see that could have caused the noise.

Again, another loud snap, Merlin heard where it was coming from this time, just behind some ferns in the shadow of a great tree. He got off the tree stump and edged towards it, considering whether this was actually a very good idea. There was something hiding behind the ferns, chattering to itself and making strange hissing noises whenever it accidentally stood on a twig and created a loud snap. Then the thing hiding suddenly fell silent, and let out a low growl. Merlin pushed apart the ferns carefully, and found himself staring into a pair of large, glaring, yellow eyes.

Merlin stumbled back with a mixture of fear and surprise. The creature began to crawl out of the ferns; he could see long, twisted arms and sharp and dirty finger nails that were more like claws. It began hissing and cursing once more, its eyes almost glowing with whatever evil the creature was.

Merlin turned and ran.

He was sure that the creature was following, he was sure he could hear it scrambling after him through the loose hanging branches, chattering and growling away to itself, its hungry eyes fixed on him all the time. Merlin was probably the freshest meat it had seen in weeks and it was longing to take a bite out of him. The thought drove Merlin on even faster despite the twigs and branches lashing out at his eyes as he ran through the forest.

The sounds of the creature chasing him became quieter over the noise of his own pounding footsteps. He took a quick glance behind him to see how far the creature was, but Merlin could longer see where he was going. He went straight into a tree; the force knocked him off his feet.

"Merlin!"

_Hold on_, Merlin thought, _trees don't talk._

He looked up to see that it definitely wasn't a tree he had just run into, but judging by the look on Arthur's face, it perhaps would have been better for Merlin if he had ran into a tree.

"Merlin what are you doing!" Arthur demanded, glaring at Merlin and rubbing his arm where Merlin had ran into him.

"Sorry Arthur," Merlin said, quickly getting back up onto his feet. "I was looking for you, and then something chased me."

"Chased you? Merlin the most deadly thing in this forest is probably a rabbit's burrow. Where's your horse?"

"Ah, well, I sort of ran off in a panic and…"

"You left the horse behind?"

"Yes."

"Please tell me you know where it is." But Arthur already knew the answer.

"Sorry," Merlin said solemnly, wondering how Arthur was going to make his life hell because he left his horse, but then there was the sound of hoofed footsteps behind him, and he turned to see that his horse had managed to follow him. Merlin sighed with relief, but neither Arthur nor the horse looked very pleased with him.

"Can't trust you with anything can I Merlin?" Arthur grunted.

"I'm not the only one," Merlin said defensively, he had hoped that Arthur had run out of insults from the cave, but clearly he hadn't. "Do you know where we are?" Merlin demanded suddenly.

"Well, no, not really—" Arthur said slowly.

"Do you know which way it is to the Dark Forest?"

"Not very well…" There was a pause where Merlin couldn't help but feel pleased with himself, Arthur glared. "Merlin stop treating me like _I'm _the servant and constantly asking questions. I don't why you're in such a bad mood."

"You've been treating me like dirt ever since we entered the caves and then you walked off and just left me here!" Merlin pointed angrily.

Arthur paused at this, he knew he had been treating Merlin badly, worse than usual, but if he had explained why he would sound like a fool. Did Merlin really know the pressure he felt himself under? Did he know that at night his nightmares were lit up by the burning Camelot? Merlin wasn't the only one who had left friends behind. "I'm sorry all right?" Arthur said after a pause, "but Merlin I didn't leave you behind."

"Yes you did! Where do you think I've been for the past few hours?"

"You've been right behind me, I could hear you following me through the trees. You went quiet only a few minutes ago."

"Arthur I haven't been following you. I was completely lost, I shouted your name, there was no reply."

"Then what has been following me all this time?" Arthur asked, suddenly looking and sounding worried.

"By the sounds of it, the same thing that left you and started watching me only a few minutes ago. Maybe even the same thing that was in the cave—"

"Sssh!" Said Arthur suddenly, before continuing in a whisper. "Whatever it is, it might still be here, keep quiet."

Merlin did, for once, as he was told. He stood there listening attentively, the eerie quiet had returned, and the only thing breaking the silence was the snapping of twigs on the forest floor.

A rustle of leaves not far away, it caught Arthur's eye and he edged near it, unsheathing his sword.

"Be careful," Merlin whispered, creeping behind Arthur.

"I'm always careful," Arthur hissed back.

Merlin could think of a dozen things that would prove Arthur's statement to be wrong, but he decided against it.

The sound was getting louder and closer now; Merlin could now hear where it was coming from, the creature seemed to be hiding behind a large tree. It was chattering away to itself until it sensed movement, and suddenly fell very quiet, almost as if it was preparing itself for something.

"Arthur," Merlin said in a low voice.

"What?" Arthur snapped, turning to look at Merlin.

Merlin was going to ask Arthur if he knew what he was doing, because the creature seemed to be waiting for them and might leap out at them at any moment. Unfortunately it was too late for that, just as Arthur turned his head the creature leaped out from behind the tree, aiming straight for his throat.

Arthur turned back just in time to see a flash of grey limbs and large yellow eyes flying towards him. He cried out with surprise and brought his sword up to defend himself. The side of the sword went slamming into the side of the creature's face. The creature was knocked out the air by the force; it stumbled on the ground, shaking its head, shocked. It stood there on the ground for a few moments; Arthur and Merlin stared down at it as it spat out a few teeth. The creature then looked up at Arthur and Merlin again and made a horrible hissing sound, showing its sharp, yellow teeth. Suddenly it turned and ran.

"Quick!" Said Arthur, running to his horse and leaping on it, "follow it, it could be heading to the Dark Forest!"

And before Merlin really knew what he was doing, he and Arthur were running towards the direction of a place that was almost lying in wait that would twist his life.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The little creature was fast, and seemed to know where it was going. It continuously dodged between the trees, sometimes climbing up them and leaping from branch to branch, but the horses were just as fast, despite the dense vegetation. Merlin and Arthur managed to keep up with it until they found themselves leaving the thick trees and going up a steady slope. Finally they broke out of the trees and were galloping up a steep hill covered in long grass. As they reached the top of the hill, both of them came to a stop.

The Dark Forest seemed to glare down upon them as if it had eyes, but you yourself could see nothing but a thick blanket of dark trees. It completely surrounded you on all sides; nothing else stood in front of you apart from a wall of dense mystery and chaos. Even the sun itself seemed be blocked out by the forest, casting Merlin and Arthur into shadows. Merlin suddenly realised how cold it was, as an involuntary shiver ran down his spine. The forest seemed to bleed out darkness and fear. The atmosphere seemed to drip with silence.

How could anything live in such a dark place? Especially something that was not tainted by such evil that seemed to linger in every leaf. The creature they were chasing did not seem alarmed by the forest's terrible presence; it dived straight between the trees without hesitation, and disappeared in a moment. But neither Arthur nor Merlin made any move to go after it and try and catch it.

They seemed to stand there for hours. For a moment even Arthur thought perhaps it would be a better idea if they turned back. Even a blind man could tell that this forest was dangerous, you could almost smell it, and that was before you had even stepped into the trees. But Merlin and Arthur had come all this way, if they turned back now, there might be nothing else anyone can do for Camelot, the creature was unstoppable, and the city would simply crumble away.

If it hadn't already.

No, the city was still there, the people were still fighting, still surviving. It would have to take more than a bird to destroy Camelot. But this did not get rid of Arthur's feeling of dread; he tried not to think about it, and instead tried to feel determined once more about what he was about to do. He turned to look at Merlin, who seemed to have frozen into a statue.

"Come on then, what are you waiting for?" Arthur asked, his tone was meant to sound loud and demanding, to shake Merlin out of his frozen position, but his voice was unusually quiet and timid. He couldn't hide his own fear.

"N, n, nothing," Merlin stammered, tearing his eyes away from the forest and looking at the ground instead as if he hoped the forest wouldn't exist if he didn't look at it. Merlin didn't make any movement towards the Dark Forest.

Minutes passed of nervous silence.

"Well we can't stand here forever." Arthur pointed out, and kicked the side of his horse to try and make it go into the forest.

But the horse refused to move, it was if it too felt the fear from the forest. It knew exactly what Arthur wanted to do, but really didn't want to do it. Merlin tried to do the same with his, but it too refused to go anywhere, apart from backwards a little, shaking its head vigorously and snorting.

"This is ridiculous," Arthur grumbled, jumping off his horse, taking it by the reigns and trying to lead it forward. But the horse reacted badly, trying to bite his hand and digging its hooves into the soft earth.

"I think the horse has a point, we shouldn't go in there," Merlin mumbled.

"Saying that isn't going to help anything. Don't just stand there, Merlin, help me get these horses moving, we're going to need them." Arthur was right when he said this, the horses had most of their supplies, and the journey would be made twice as long without them.

Merlin reluctantly got off his horse, which was beginning to panic, its eyes were wide and its head was tossing from side to side. He tried to lead it into the forest but it refused point blank. In fact the horse reared up on its hind legs, almost kicking Merlin in the head, turned and then pelted in the opposite direction to the Dark Forest, back towards the mountains. Arthur's horse immediately followed, he was forced to let go of the reins as he was almost dragged along with it.

"Well done Merlin!" Arthur yelled, irritated.

"It wasn't my fault!" Merlin argued back. "That horse has never liked me!"

"We've lost everything, food, water, weapons, medicine, everything but what we're standing in. We don't have much to defend ourselves any more, most things in there are going to be poisonous or deadly, or both!"

"Do you want me to go and chase after them then? They've gone back to the mountains, we'll never find them." Merlin tried to calm himself down, there was no point descending into a childish argument. "There's nothing we can do Arthur, we either keep going or we turn back."

"We can't go back," Arthur sighed, realisation settling in, there really was nothing they could do. "We have to go into that forest, we have no choice. We'll be fine just as long as we keep quiet, I don't know what monsters might be lurking in there, but don't let anything attract their attention. Don't fall into any obvious traps and stay close to me this time, we find this Feu as quickly as we can and then we get out."

Arthur took a step forward, and gazed into the dark trees, the trees seemed to stare back at him, almost daring him to enter the forest, to begin the game where it was impossible to win. Arthur felt like he had more power on his horse, but now he was just standing on his own two feet, despite having Merlin with him, he felt terribly alone. Cold blood bumped steadily through his veins by his nervous heart.

"No going back." Arthur murmured, before stepping through.

Merlin stood there, a foolish thing to do after Arthur had told him to stay close, but all the same he remained motionless, staring up at the blackness of the Dark Forest. He thought that as soon as they reached the Dark Forest everything would be simple, go in, collect this Feu and get out, just don't get eaten by everything on the way. But now the true task of what he had to do was finally settling in, and froze his blood with fear and dread as it went. They wouldn't know where they were going, what they would be facing, what they should do when it got dark, they had very little to defend themselves and they didn't know how long they would be wandering in the forest. They didn't even know what this Feu looked like.

But Arthur was right, no going back.

Merlin took a deep breath and stepped into the depths of the forest. Hoping against hope he would see the end of the forest soon and the journey through the forest would be over.

The outcome of his journey however, would surprise Merlin more than he ever thought.

_Sorry it's a bit of a short chapter, and I'm aware it is dragging on a little bit, but they couldn't teleport to the Dark Forest now could they?_

_I saw a fanfic the other day that only had five chapters posted but had over fifty reviews…50 reviews! How do they do it? Probably being good at writing helps! Haha, but I do love reviews, so if you have a spare 30 seconds or something, I really would like to know what you think of the fic so far (:_


	13. Chapter 13

_Sorry for the delayed chapter, I try to update every day but I haven't been too well recently, and I'm still not, but perhaps some reviews will help speed up my recovery…? (:_

Chapter 13

At first Merlin thought that perhaps his expectations of the Dark Forest had been a little too high. He wasn't immediately plunged into darkness when he stepped between the trees, and although his imagination made him think that things were clawing their way through the darkness, searching for him, there didn't seem to be any apparent danger around. Merlin found himself jumping at odd noises, but when he found that it was nothing but a simple snap of a twig or the whistling wind, he began to calm down a little and his mind began to convince him that there was nothing there that could really hurt him.

When Merlin turned back, he could still see sunlight and the gaps between the trees him and Arthur had stepped through, safety wasn't far away if any danger did occur. However, this was a very dense forest, and soon more branches and trees covered up the light that Merlin saw as his safety, and less and less light was able to fight its way through to the forest floor. Despite this, one thing stayed the same, and Merlin managed to remain calm. It was only the silence that was beginning to worry him and made his apprehension grow once more over time.

Even though it was silent, Merlin could feel eyes peering out the dark at him, he and Arthur were not alone, but this company was not a comforting one. It was as if all the creatures of the night were waiting for the perfect moment to strike on their prey, and leave no remains. It may be dark, it may be cold, but Merlin could feel himself sweating and could hear is heavy breathing. Could the creatures hear? Maybe that's how they could track their food, by smelling their fear.

Merlin decided he didn't like tagging behind Arthur any more, he had a strong feeling that creatures in this forest would probably like to pick off the stragglers first. He picked up his pace so he could walk beside Arthur, who said nothing; his eyes fixed on what was around them. But it seemed that the creatures just wanted to watch the strangers, nothing else.

The one time Arthur did speak to Merlin was when Merlin broke the silence by accidentally standing on something that had a very loud crunch. Gritting his teeth at the noise, dreading what other creatures might have been attracted to the noise, Merlin looked down and accidentally gasped aloud with horror.

He had stood on bones, from the loud crunch he had expected something like that, but he thought it would be nothing but the remains of a large rat, it was only then Merlin looked down that he realised that he had crushed the hand of a human skeleton. Large empty eye sockets stared up at him; jaw locked open in a never-ending silent scream. Arthur turned back to see what Merlin had stumbled across and why he had gasped, when he saw the body he immediately understood and he too was drenched in another wave of fear. The first thing he did was bend down and inspect the skeleton. There was very little left, but the unfortunate pile of bones that had once been a man still had his shield, and Arthur could just make out the faded symbol on the shield.

"This was one of King Udin's men." Arthur murmured, standing up again.

"Not any more," Merlin replied in a hoarse whisper. "How long do you think it's been here for?"

"Hard to tell in this place," Merlin highly doubted that Arthur's words were meant to comfort him, and if they did, they had failed miserably. "He could have been left alone to decay naturally, or been picked to pieces by his killers."

"Lovely."

A loud hiss made Merlin almost gasp with surprise again; both he and Arthur turned to see what had made the noise. Next to the dead body emerged a large green snake, the biggest Merlin had ever seen, with large, blood red eyes that were the same colour as its tongue. It came slithering towards them, wondering what they were doing near its meal, and hissed a warning at them, showing large, white fangs.

"What do we do?" Merlin asked, knowing that if they moved the snake might strike, and that would be a big mistake. He could almost see the venom dripping off the fangs. He hated snakes.

"Make fire," Arthur told him.

"What?" Merlin risked taking his eyes off the snake to look at Arthur, he spoke in a low whisper as if the snake could understand their conversation.

"Scare it off, scare them all off!" Arthur replied in a hurried hiss that was similar to the snake's. Like Merlin, he was sweating with nerves and was beginning to panic.

"How?"

"I don't know, use your head, think of something."

Merlin slowly edged away from the snake and the dead body and started to search for something that he could use as a torch. He soon found a log lying on the floor that thankfully wasn't another pile of bones. Picking it up and brushing off the large, fat spiders that scrambled all over it, he looked around to see if Arthur was out of ear shot, and then murmured a few words under his breath. Fire burst into being right before his eyes on the log, shedding him in warmth and light. Merlin quickly headed back to Arthur who was still standing still in front of the snake.

"That was quick," Arthur whispered to Merlin, who passed him the burning log.

"Was it?" For a moment Merlin was worried that Arthur might realise that he used magic to light the log, but Arthur didn't question him, he had more pressing things on his mind.

Arthur waved the flaming torch in front of the snake, which was creeping ever closer. It backed away at the bright light and heat, but that did not chase it off, it probably hadn't had fresh prey in weeks, and Arthur and Merlin were the perfect meal. Arthur made a swift move with the log, jamming it in the snake's face in the hope to make it slither away in fright, but instead the snake reacted angrily, snapping up at him with trying to lock its jaws around his arm.

For a moment Merlin thought that Arthur would be bitten, but Arthur was just as quick as the snake, pulling out his sword and with a swift slash, cut the beast's head off. The snake's body seemed to hang in the air for a moment, and its tail twisted sickeningly from side to side, until dropping down next to its own head and the human skeleton. Blue blood slowly seeped out of the beheaded snake, staining the earth.

"Let's keep moving," Arthur said, handing Merlin back the burning torch, "and keep hold of that, we might need it, it's getting darker by the minute."

Merlin nodded silently, his face a pale green colour at the sight of the snake's blood, he was glad of the warmth of the flames though.

But the two men should have stayed a little longer. as Arthur and Merlin turned away they didn't see the snake's body begin to move again, to writhe and shake as if it was still alive. Then, slowly, two more heads began to grow out from where the single head had once been. The snake, recovering from its short death, hissed and watched with four pairs of new eyes as the attackers moved off into the night.

Arthur was right, the snake was hungry, and it rarely had prey that walked so stupidly in the open air, making such noise with their stomping feet. But now the snake was angry too, it was only young and wasn't used to fire or being decapitated. The snake slithered off into the dark, following the two solemn figures and the bright flames, but always keeping out of sight. It would make a meal of them yet.


	14. Chapter 14

_Warning: If you are afraid of or don't like spiders…we're in a bit of a dilemma…_

_Please review (:_

Chapter 14

Night had fallen over the forest, it was hard to tell but the forest had definitely grown even darker and even colder, and Merlin was also beginning to feel tired. Although his senses still seemed sharpened by the thought that they were being watched, he couldn't stop the occasional yawn and was beginning to stumble over the ground like a clumsy child.

Arthur was also beginning to feel tired, he knew that it wouldn't be safe to continue through pitch darkness when neither of them were fully alert. If they built a fire and found somewhere to sleep for a few hours, they might be all right until dawn came once more.

The darkness of the night seemed to have awoken all the creatures of the forest. Croaks, growls, hisses and even distant whispers were all around, and the glowing eyes of something staring at Merlin and Arthur out of the undergrowth. They would never be able to find Feu in the dark, there was no point continuing.

After a few more feet, Arthur came to a clearing and stopped, gazing around. It seemed a safe enough place to rest for now, before they made a move again.

"We'll stay here tonight," he said to Merlin, "get a fire together, we'll take turns to keep watch."

"What will we be watching out for?" Merlin asked, rubbing his eye sleepily and wondering if he really wanted to know what the answer to his question might be.

"How am I meant to know? Probably every monster under the sun trusting our luck, the fire should keep them off though." Arthur said.

"Can't we eat something first?" Merlin asked, it wasn't only tiredness that was getting to him now, it was hunger too.

"I suppose we can have a little, but we would have had a lot more to eat if someone hadn't let the horses run off with all the supplies." Arthur grumbled, setting down the torch and his supplies. Merlin didn't seem to hear his muttering, either that or he was too tired to start an argument.

They ate a small piece of bread each after setting up a fire between them using bits of fallen branches. Arthur decided to go to sleep first, and told Merlin to wake him up after an hour or so, when they would swap. Merlin said nothing; he just nodded, wishing that he had had a say in who went to sleep first.

It didn't take long for Arthur to fall asleep, Merlin thought that his snoring probably kept the animals away more than the fire did. Arthur's snoring and the crackling flames came close to completely blocking out all other sounds of the forest, which Merlin was grateful for.

Sitting on the hard ground, Merlin felt uncomfortable, bored and tired, a few times he found himself steadily nodding off, and then jerking awake. He hoped that the hour would soon be up, so he could get some sleep.

Just as he was thinking this, he heard something else over Arthur's snores and the fire that made him feel wide awake. It was the sound of footsteps.

Despite feeling very alone in the forest, Merlin didn't like the sound of footsteps in the night. It was definitely something that had two feet, and it was treading carefully over the broken branches and seemed to be moving towards him. For a moment Merlin thought it might be Feu, it would make the journey a whole lot easier if she found them before they found her. But then he remembered that Feu didn't know they were there and if she was creeping up on them in the middle of the night, it wasn't a good sign.

Merlin craned his neck, trying to follow the noise, curiosity was taking over fear, he wanted to know what was there. Suddenly the figure appeared in a gap between the trees and looked directly at him. Their eyes met, Merlin gasped with surprise.

"Arthur! Arthur wake up!" He cried, shaking the Prince.

"What is it Merlin?" Arthur asked.

"It's…" Merlin began, but when he looked back to the gap in the trees, the figure was no longer there. "I…sorry I thought I saw something, it's gone now."

"Well thank you for giving me that vital piece of information!" Arthur snapped, sitting up and glaring at Merlin. "Well, seeming as I'm awake now I might as well take over. I think tiredness is getting the better of you Merlin."

"Yeah, probably," Merlin murmured.

But going to sleep was easier said than done.

Before Merlin had seen the figure in the forest, he had been desperate to get some sleep, but now as he lay on the uncomfortable ground staring at the yellow flames of the fire, he found himself wide awake and his head buzzing with thought.

When Merlin did finally fall asleep, he had no idea for how long, it seemed only a minute had passed when something was shaking him awake, whispering his name urgently. At first Merlin thought it was the figure he had seen, so his eyes immediately snapped open, but when he turned over, he saw that it was only Arthur.

"What is it?" Merlin groaned, already turning over again to get back to sleep.

"Sssh, Merlin get up now!" Hissed Arthur.

"Why?" It was still the middle of the night, he hadn't overslept, Merlin couldn't understand why he was being forced to get up.

"Just do it, now!" In the firelight, Arthur's face had turned a bright yellow colour, but Merlin could still see fear in his eyes, and that wasn't usual.

It was then that Merlin heard something scatter across the ground, in fact lots of things. It sounded like lots of small pairs of legs were filling the clearing. Merlin sat up quickly and saw that his prediction of the sound was horribly correct. Merlin stare with wide-eyed horror and amazement at the sight of what was bothering Arthur so much.

Spiders, bigger than a human head, and they were everywhere.

Huge, fat bodies and tangled, spindly legs, covered in black hair, scuttled all over the clearing and more were coming out of the dark trees. Arthur was trying desperately to kick them away and stab them with his sword. Merlin soon realised why Arthur was making such a fuss as one came right up to his face, and he could see dozens of yellow eyes and large fangs. It lashed out at him and he leapt up immediately and quickly helped Arthur try to kick away the spiders. But there were so many of them, and although they didn't seem to like being attacked, they were hardly injured. They kept on coming back.

"We have to get out of here!" Arthur cried, stooping down to the ground and grabbing as many things as possible and stamping out the fire. "Come on Merlin!"

Plunged into sudden darkness, with only a few burning embers of the fire left to guide him, Merlin stumbled around, bundling up the blankets he had been lying on, and nearly taking a spider with him.

_We're on their territory; they'll kill us for this! _Merlin thought as panic slowly took over his senses as he felt his hand brush past a hairy black leg. The ground was swarming with spiders now, Merlin and Arthur had all the supplies they could carry, there was nothing else they could do.

"Let's get out of here!" Arthur cried, belting into the darkness of the trees, Merlin followed.

Merlin wasn't sure how long they kept on running, long after the sound of the scuttling legs of the giant black spiders had stopped, but they needed to be sure they were not being followed by them. Lost again in the complete darkness of the trees, the murmuring of strange creatures and glaring eyes, Merlin and Arthur steadily slowed down to a walk, but they didn't stop. Merlin no longer felt tired as the adrenaline still pumped through his veins. He looked up at the sky and was grateful to see that glimmers of the sun was beginning to appear, blood red as it rose upwards, but it was better than total darkness. Merlin could now just about see the figure of Arthur in front of him, and that seemed to comfort him a little.

It wasn't until the sun was fully in the sky (though it made little difference to Arthur and Merlin, still stuck in the darkness of the forest) when Arthur spoke again, and what he said took Merlin by surprise.

"That figure you saw in the night, what was it?" He asked.

"It was…nothing, forget about it." Merlin assured Arthur, not looking up into his eyes as if he was ashamed of something.

Arthur gave Merlin a worried look through the gloom, but after that he did seem to forget about what Merlin has said. But it was a long time before Merlin could, because he was certain about what he saw and the figure had surprised him more than the giant spiders.

That figure, was Morgana.


	15. Chapter 15

_Had a really busy day today, so I missed Merlin! ): So reviews will be received with extra love today! Haha. Don't worry I'll catch up soon, until then, not long until they find Feu!_

Chapter 15

"Arthur?"

"What?" Arthur sighed grudgingly, "I knew it wouldn't be long until you broke the silence Merlin."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know how many times I told you to stay quiet, and for once I actually thought you would listen to what I say."

"I haven't said anything for hours!"

"How do you know it's hours Merlin? It could be just a few minutes, or days, maybe even a week. We don't know because we've been wandering in this dark forsaken place forever!"

"I think you might be over exaggerating the situation Arthur."

"And I really think I'm not."

There was a pause.

"We're lost aren't we?"

"Well when was the last time you knew where we were going?"

Even though Merlin didn't want to admit it, Arthur had a point. They didn't know where they were going, and they didn't know how long they had been wandering in the forest. It was quiet during the day, if there still was a day. The most frightening thing Merlin and Arthur had encountered since they were attacked by the spiders was a large dog with huge, long teeth and red eyes. Luckily the monster was busy eating another deformed looking creature, so took little notice of Arthur or Merlin, to their relief. The only other creatures that could be seen were huge black birds sitting up in the trees, watching them pass by, but not reacting.

Arthur's comment had shunned Merlin back into silence, which he didn't particularly like, however it was probably the safest thing to do as Arthur was in a rotten mood, but then, who could blame him? Merlin also was in a bad mood. He was hungry, tired and thirsty, even though they had stopped to eat something and have a rest barely a few hours ago. But the rest had been so brief, and they had eaten little food because the supply was disappearing surprisingly fast. It would only be a few more days before they had run out of food and water.

In the brief argument and snappy remarks Merlin realised that he had completely forgotten what he wanted to say to Arthur anyway, until he looked up again and was plunged into a fresh pool of fear again. The last of the colour drained out of his face as his heart trebled in speed.

"Arthur," Merlin hissed again, but in a low whisper that was barely audible.

"What now Merlin!" Arthur snapped, but also spoke in a whisper, aware that this time there probably was something wrong.

"That bird…it's got a head."

Arthur rolled his eyes, for a moment he thought Merlin had spotted something serious. "So have many other birds Merlin, it's quite normal, there is no need to panic."

"But Arthur, it's got a _human _head."

Arthur looked up and saw that Merlin was right.

A large bird, about the size of a small child, was standing on a branch almost directly above them. Its body was the shape of a vulture and its feathers were a filthy dark brown colour. On top of the body, sat the head of an old woman. The face was covered in deep wrinkles and there was a shock of white hair upon the head, but very little of it. There was as little comfort in the face of the creature as there was in the rest of its body. As Merlin and Arthur continued to stare up at the creature, the Harpy stared back with piercing black eyes.

"Do you think it can hear us?" Merlin whispered to Arthur. The creature cocked its head to one side. Even from the distance between them; they could see its eyes narrow with suspicion or anger, or both.

"Quite possibly Merlin, so I suggest you shut up!"

The Harpy could indeed hear what they were saying, but at first it did not react, it simply stood there on the tree branch observing the two figures below it. Slowly, Arthur unsheathed his sword; he had a feeling he was going to need it. Finally the Harpy spoke:

"What are you?" It asked.

"We are just travellers, it is no business of yours," Arthur said steadily and loudly so the creature could hear. "We have no interest to you, move on!"

"Liar!" The creature gave out a horrible, high pitched screech in rage. It was so loud and so high pitched Merlin and Arthur had to clamp their hands over their ears for fear of their eardrums bursting. The screech echoed all around, scaring all other birds from the surrounding trees.

The creature unveiled it huge black wings, which seemed to make it double in size. It spoke again in a high pitched voice without bothering to hide its joy:

"I rarely get such interesting prey that speaks to me, that _lies___to me. I think I shall enjoy eating you. Little creatures." With that, the creature suddenly took off its perch and swooped towards them.

"Run Merlin!" Arthur cried with horror. But all Merlin could do was start to back away slowly in terror.

Arthur raised his sword in defence as the Harpy swooped closer, but it did not seem alarmed by his weapon, in fact it descended quite calmly towards them and knocked the sword out of Arthur's hand with one of its huge, yellow talons. Arthur gasped with pain and surprise as one of the black claws ripped at his hand. He backed away, clutching his wrist and staring at the open wound on his hand as blood spattered to the ground.

The beast then started towards Merlin, who was still walking backwards and wasn't looking where he was going. He tripped straight over a large log on the ground and landed on his back with a thud. The creature landed on his stomach, Merlin was surprised by the creature's weight, he found he couldn't pull himself back up.

"Don't eat me!" Merlin cried out loud in alarm, he felt like a coward saying it but little else mattered at the moment.

"What a grand thing to say after your friend tried to kill me!" The Harpy shrieked with rage. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't tear your eyes out stranger!"

"Leave him alone!" Arthur yelled.

"I was not talking to you vermin!" The Harpy snapped at Arthur, but didn't take its black eyes away from Merlin, it drew its head closer to Merlin's face. "Well little creature, what is your reason?"

"I have no reason!" Merlin cried in a panic. Screwing up his eyes, expecting the beak-like mouth to start pecking at his face. But nothing came. He opened his eyes to see the creature still staring at him, giving him a thoughtful glare.

"You speak the truth, for that I shall spare you." The creature said, it glanced back at Arthur; "I have also rarely seen creatures here that are willing to protect their friends. I think maybe you are more special than I thought."

"Why do you stare at us?" Merlin asked, beginning to feel a bit braver that this creature obviously did not want to eat him, for now, it was still sitting on his stomach.

"The question is, why are you looking at _me_?" The Harpy asked in a cracked, harsh voice. Stretching out its neck further towards Merlin's face, he could smell rotting flesh on its breath. "Is it because I'm ugly?"

"I hadn't seen anything like…you before." Merlin admitted, deciding that it was probably better not to try and deceive this creature. "But also because you were staring at us first, and I want to know why."

"Because you are new, you do not belong on my land." Said the Harpy.

"Your land?" Arthur repeated, edging forward, still clutching his hand.

"Well it doesn't belong to you does it little boy?" The Harpy sneered at him.

"I'm not a child!" Arthur snapped.

"Not in body, but in mind you are. I can tell by the way you speak and by the clothes you wear you are a Prince, you are meant to be strong and powerful. But I think that sometimes you feel like a little boy lost in a world that's still too big for him."

"Actually," Merlin said quickly, seeing the look on Arthur's face that he was about to explode and wanted to change the subject. "We are lost. Can you help us?"

"Hmm, wouldn't it be easier to eat you instead?"

"No, definitely not." Merlin shook his head vigorously; the creature seemed amused by this. "If you help us, the sooner we'll be off your land and we won't put up a fight."

"Well," the Harpy paused to think, sniffing the air. "I suppose I might be able to assist you." It said slowly.

"We're looking for someone called Feu." said Arthur. "Do you know where she is?"

"Ach, that little creature. She spends a lot of time on my land, always has some excuse like she needs more food. Why should I care if she wants more food? What do you want with her?"

"We need her help."

"You scrounge help from everyone don't you?" The Harpy grunted, stretching out its wings, "last time I saw her, she was up North near the caves. That's all I know."

"Thank you, is there anything we can do for you in return?" Arthur said after a brief pause as he tried to hide his relief.

"It seems that you're the only ones around here who want Feu, so when you find her you can take her away from this forest. Like you she does not truly belong here, and when she's left this forest she'll stop wandering onto my land!" Said the Harpy angrily.

With that it took off into the sky. Swooping up into the trees, and disappearing out of sight.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

As soon as the Harpy vanished from sight, Merlin sat up abruptly and sighed with relief. It seems that perhaps not all the creatures in the forest are evil, the Harpy probably had no intention of eating them, if it had, it would have done it a long time ago. Perhaps the creature could tell that they were there for a good purpose and were not there to make enemies.

"Are you all right Merlin?" Arthur asked after the long silence that had followed the Harpy's disappearance.

"Yeah," Merlin nodded slowly, "yes, I think I'm all right." He could still feel where the creature's talons had been digging into is stomach, but it had not drawn any blood, unlike Arthur. "How's your hand?"

"It's OK, just a scratch." Arthur tired to assure Merlin, but this was hard to believe. Blood was still flowing freely from it, trickling down Arthur's arm and dripping onto the forest floor, Arthur looked very pale. But there was nothing they could do about it, they would just have to hope that the scratch wasn't too deep and the bleeding would soon stop, they didn't even have any bandages, almost all the supplies had gone.

"Maybe we should stop for a while, have a rest." Merlin suggested.

"No, I feel fine." Arthur said, quickly thinking of a subject that wasn't connected to his injury. "By the sounds of it we might be quite close to where Feu is, and we now know which direction to go." He explained hopefully, walking over to Merlin and helping him up with his uninjured hand.

"You know which way North is then?" Merlin asked.

"Yes of course I know which way North is, it doesn't take a genius." Arthur's hand didn't seem too badly injured if he could still snap at Merlin.

"Which way is it then?" Merlin had had no idea of which way they had been travelling for the last couple of days, and by the way Arthur's face slowly fell, he probably didn't know either.

"It will be…" Arthur walked in a circle, looking up at the sky and trying to follow the sun. "This way!" He said suddenly, pointing straight behind Merlin.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes…" Arthur said slowly, Merlin raised his eyebrow. "Well it's a better guess than yours isn't it Merlin!" Arthur snapped again irritated as he turned and stormed off into the forest.

It was probably a good thing that Arthur insisted on moving, as many creatures could now smell fresh blood. Even the trees, so full of dark magic they were living and filled with dark thought, were being woken up from their long years of sleep because of a young, new creature, with such sweet smelling blood. However, as Arthur and Merlin _were _new creatures, they were unaware of the feeling that trees were watching them wasn't just, but they were soon about to find out.

The Harpy should have also warned them that heading North meant heading further into the forest, and with that came more danger, but that did not bother it, and if they did get eaten by creatures, why should that bother it? The Harpy had already spared them, if they were that foolish to stumble into another easy trap, then they had it coming, and it wouldn't ruin its life if such a thing occurred.

For the moment, Merlin and Arthur were unaware of the constantly fresh danger that they were walking into, but this was mainly because they kept up their pace, kept moving forward. Any sly killer would know that there was no point pouncing upon a creature when it was moving fast and had plenty of energy. If they were worth the wait, then the creatures would wait.

Arthur finally did stop, but mainly because Merlin was beginning to feel exhausted, and was struggling to keep up with him.

"For goodness sake Merlin we don't have all day." Arthur snapped, but he too looked exhausted, although that may be because of the loss of blood and constant pain in his hand.

"I know that, but you need to slow down!" Merlin snapped back at him. Jogging the last few metres to come to a stop next to Arthur.

"Do you really think we have time to slow down? We're so close!"

"Can't we just stop for a few minutes?" Merlin almost begged. "Feu isn't going to be going very far."

"How do you know?" Arthur demanded.

"How do you even know we're heading the right way?" Merlin pointed out, sitting down on a rock and ignoring Arthur's glare of annoyance. "You made a guess that's all, for all you know, we might be heading back to the mountains!"

"Well it was a better guess than yours! I wouldn't be surprised if you got lost on the way back to your chambers!"

Merlin was about to deny this and tell Arthur that his sense of direction was probably just as bad as his own, when a strange noise made him forget completely what he wanted to say. He sat up quickly, listening as closely as he could to the sounds of the forests.

"Can you hear that?" He asked Arthur.

"Don't just change the subject Merlin!" Arthur replied angrily.

"Oh just shut up for once and listen!"

"Merlin, did you just tell me to shut up!"

But Merlin was no longer listening. There was something slithering across the ground. For a moment he thought it was a snake, like the one they had already encountered, but something about this sound told him that he was wrong, it was something else. He looked behind him and gazed at the forest floor around him, ignoring Arthur's questions about what he was doing, but there was nothing, just dead leaves and tree roots.

If Merlin had let his eyes linger upon the ground for a little longer, instead of flickering around, he would have seen one of these harmless looking tree roots move with surprising speed, slithering over the dead leaves and wrap itself round Arthur's foot.

Arthur was unaware of what was happening to him until it was too late. He felt something squeeze tightly around his ankle, and was about to turn and see what it was, when suddenly the thing pulled him backwards with surprising force and strength, knocking him off his feet.

Lying face first onto the ground and being steadily dragged along it, Arthur managed to wriggle around and glance behind him to see what was pulling him through the forest. If he had been anywhere else other than the dark forest, and if he wasn't being dragged along by it, Arthur would have laughed when he saw that what was wrapped around his ankle was a tree root. Instead Arthur's eyes widened with horror and disbelief. It didn't matter if you had any sense of direction or not, you could easily tell that this was going to lead you into something's mouth.

"Merlin!" Arthur cried in panic, kicking with his foot to try and get the root off of his foot, but it had no intention of letting go. "Merlin do something!"

Merlin stood up with surprise when he heard Arthur fall to the ground with a thud, and then see him being dragged off. The root (there was nothing else Merlin could really think to call it) was now pulling Arthur away with alarming speed. Within the few moments that Merlin stood there staring with shock at the tree root, Arthur had almost disappeared through the trees. Arthur kicked madly and scrambled at the earth, trying to find something to grab onto.

"Merlin get it off me!" Arthur yelled.

Merlin pulled a knife out of his pocket and pelted after Arthur, who was disappearing fast.

Finally Arthur managed to grab onto a tree trunk to stop the root from dragging him away, but he had to use all his strength to hold on. There were cuts all over him from sharp twigs and rocks he had brushed past, and his face was covered in mud.

"Merlin kill it!" Arthur cried out again, he could already feel his grip beginning to slip off the tree trunk.

Merlin ran past where Arthur was lying, stooped down and grabbed the tree root; he tried to slice through it with his knife, but it was tougher than it looked and more intelligent. The tree could feel Merlin cutting away at the root so it immediately began to rap itself around Merlin's hand and try to squeeze the life out of it. Merlin cried with surprise and pain as the tree root dug into him. He just managed to wriggle free from the root before it formed a tight enough grip that he too would be a victim, but in his struggle the knife dropped from his hand.

"What are you waiting for?" Arthur shouted, craning his neck. He could just see Merlin standing there, out of the corner of his eye, staring down at the tree root, doing nothing. He didn't even have a weapon in his hand.

Suddenly, Arthur found himself torn away from the tree trunk, the distraction had made him lose his grip, and now he was being dragged away again, even faster. He was being thrown from side to side, trees were knocking into him and the ground rushing away from beneath him.

"Merlin!" Arthur almost screamed this time in his urgency. He could no longer see Merlin, who had stood stunned for a few moments before running off to find something sharper he could cut the root with.

Arthur could feel himself beginning to lose complete control of himself in panic. He could no longer see Merlin, just the dark trees all around, and there was nothing he could do to try and free himself.

Suddenly, there was a loud _whack _just behind Arthur, and all of a sudden he stopped moving. Merlin had at last used some sense as he had found something strong enough to cut the tree root in half, freeing Arthur. Arthur laid face down for a moment, allowing himself to catch his breath back. He then turned to thank Merlin for saving his life, but as he turned around he didn't find himself looking up at Merlin. Instead he found himself gazing into the eyes of someone he had never seen before in his life, but had been the only reason he was in the Dark Forest in the first place.

They had found Feu.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Merlin ran back to where him and Arthur had stopped just a few minutes before. It was surprisingly easy to find, as it was one of the few clearings in the forest. Merlin soon found what he had been looking for; lying on the forest floor was Arthur's sword, which he had dropped when the root had grabbed him. He picked it up and then charged back through the forest to where he had left Arthur, if Arthur was still there and hadn't been dragged away. But there had been no need to hurry, as when Merlin had returned her found Arthur detached from the tree root and staring up at a girl, who was holding a nasty looking axe in her hand.

The girl swung the axe over her shoulder as if it weighed nothing and looked up into Merlin's eyes. She was stall but looked slightly younger than Merlin was. The girl's body was slim and curved, she was like a perfect statue that had come to life. Long, golden hair flowed passed her shoulders in waves like the ocean; her eyes were dark, but glistened like the moon reflecting off a river on a calm, dark night and they glittered with mystery. Her face was stern but gentle at the same time. The clothes that she wore were the colour of earth and slightly tattered, but the most unusual thing was that she was wearing trousers, a very rare thing for women to wear; though there were probably very few suitable things to wear in a forest. This did not appear to bother Merlin however, as he was taken a back by her beauty, she would even make Morgana turn a little green with jealousy. Merlin could tell that Arthur couldn't see this however.

An odd silence had fallen over the three of them; no one seemed to know what to say. In the end Arthur was the first to speak, as he steadily pulled himself off of the forest floor, his eyes not moving from the girl.

"Feu?" Arthur asked slowly.

Feu's eyes immediately hardened a little as they snapped from Merlin to Arthur, but she nodded. "You've been looking for me." She said, her voice was also calm but tinted a little with suspiciousness.

"How did you know?"

"I could hear you and smell you coming a long way away, but I had a feeling that you might be coming to find me soon anyway. You are Arthur," Feu turned suddenly to Merlin again, "and you are Merlin."

"How did you know?" Arthur repeated again.

"How did you know _my _name?" Feu demanded. She had a look on her face as if she was slightly concerned that Arthur had a limited word capacity, and could only ask one question. But before Arthur could reply Feu looked down at his injured hand and glared. "You've had a confrontation with a Harpy." She said in a matter-of-fact voice, as if she saw such things every day.

"A what? Ow!" Feu grabbed Arthur's hand in not the gentlest manner and looked at it closely.

"It's a bird," she told him. "A nasty one."

"We gathered, ow be careful!"

"How did you find a Harpy?" Feu asked, ignoring Arthur's wincing and complaining.

"It found us," Merlin explained, edging a little closer to her.

"And you talked to it," Feu looked up and gave Merlin a flash of a smile. The smile seemed to light up Feu's face and the world around it, it took Merlin by surprise, making him blush a little. "It takes a lot of bravery to do something like that. And you told the truth; Harpies always know when people are telling the truth, they hate lies. If you had lied, you probably wouldn't be here now."

"That's comforting," Arthur said, gritting his face through the pain and trying to pull his hand away from Feu, but she was stronger that she looked.

"If you're thinking about walking off with your hand still in this state, you've got another thing coming. You can't go anywhere in the forest like this stinking of your own blood, you've already almost been eaten because of it." Feu nodded at the tree root still wrapped loosely around Arthur's leg.

"It's fine," Arthur told her, trying to pull the tree root off his foot with his free hand, but with little success.

"I can also tell when you're lying Arthur Pendragon, so I would prefer if you didn't." Feu told him a little harshly. "I may have something where I am staying which I can bandage it with."

"I said it's fine."

"And I said I didn't want you lying to me!" Feu snapped, and for a moment Merlin thought he saw her eyes change colour, but it was only for a few moments. "Do not make me angry, you are on my land, so you will do as I say."

"Ouch! Merlin, do something!" Arthur said as Feu began to drag him off through the forest, still holding his injured hand.

"Well, I think it wouldn't hurt to have a look at it." Merlin shrugged, trying not to grin at this amusing sight, Arthur very let anyone boss him around, especially if that someone was a human.

"Merlin that's not helpful!" Arthur growled.

"At least he tells the truth," Feu said, leading Arthur away.

"Where are we going?" Merlin asked, following a grumpy looking Arthur and stern faced Feu.

"There are some caves near here where I spend most of my time, you can rest there for a while, and then be on your way." She told him.

It was only a ten-minute walk to the caves Feu had mentioned; the forest seemed a lot less frightening now that they were with someone who knew the place so well. Feu did walk through the forest with confidence.

There were about three caves that came looming out of the forest towards the three of them in a clear area; they looked horribly dark inside. Feu lead them to the middle cave, where Merlin could see some remains of a fire and what looked like a bed made out of a few thin blankets. He hated to think what sort of life Feu had living there.

Feu made Arthur sit on the thin blankets and then started sifting around on the cave floor for something to treat Arthur's wound. The whole of this and the journey to the cave had been in silence, which Merlin was longing to break. After a few moments Feu came across a few scraps of what looked like bread and shoved them into Merlin and Arthur's hands.

"Eat that, you two smell like you haven't eaten proper food for days. And don't do that!" Feu snapped suddenly at Arthur, who had been turning his nose up at the food she had handed him.

"Is this all the food you have?" Merlin asked, concerned.

"I can find some more." She told him.

This statement didn't convince Merlin, but unlike Feu or the Harpy he couldn't tell when people were really lying, so ate the food gratefully as Arthur nibbled at it.

Merlin gazed around the cave, on the floor, on the walls and even on the ceiling (though who knows how they got there) were scattered what looked like all of Feu's possessions. There were normal things such as clothes, knives and a few bits of firewood, but there were also some other unusual things, which Merlin could tell what Feu saw as treasures. A tattered little book that looked like it had spent a few too many nights out in the rain, some bones, bits of jewellery, even a few pieces of gold, what looked like a piece of armour and a few glass bottles, some of them still containing odd coloured liquids.

"Where did you find all of these things?" Merlin asked in wonder, as Feu shoved one of the glass bottles into Arthur's hands and ordered him to drink it.

"I find them mostly," she explained, "or people give them to me, I go from place to place and there are just some things I find on the way."

"Well I don't know where you got that from," Arthur coughed; his face full of disgust as he held out the small glass bottle, which was now empty.

"I made it, someone gave me the ingredients." Feu explained.

"You've poisoned me!" Arthur said suddenly.

"Don't be so paranoid, of course I haven't poisoned you!" Feu snapped angrily, and once again Merlin thought that her eyes changed colour for a few moments.

"Let me have a look," Merlin took the bottle from Arthur's hand and sniffed. Whatever had been inside it certainly did smell horrible, but he was sure it wasn't poisonous, and it smelt familiar too. "Who did you get the ingredients from?" He asked.

"Someone called Gaius, you wouldn't know him." Feu mumbled.

"Did he live in Camelot?" Merlin asked suspiciously.

Feu looked up at Merlin, her face also looked a little suspicious, as if this was information she thought Merlin shouldn't know. "Yes," Feu said slowly.

"I know him." Said Merlin he couldn't help grinning; "he's my Uncle."

"Really?" Feu's face lit up at this, "he's still alive?"

"Well he might be, we don't know any more." Arthur grumbled, pulling the root off his foot and throwing it out the cave entrance.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Feu snapped back to Arthur, and the hope that had glittered in her eyes dwindled away a little.

"Camelot is under attack by an Opinicus, apparently you're the only person who will be able to help us." Arthur explained. "That's why we came looking for you, but we're wasting time here, for all we know, there may be nothing of Camelot left."

"You make it sound like I have no choice in this matter." Feu grumbled, she stood away from both Arthur and Merlin now, and glared at them.

"It's because Arthur didn't ask you, he told you." Merlin explained, he sounded irritated that Arthur was being so rude, but when he turned back to Feu his tone of voice was more pleading than anything else. "Please can you help us? You're Camelot's only hope."

"What if I say no?" Feu asked slowly.

Merlin and Arthur were both surprised at this comment, after all they had been through, they thought the easiest part would be to persuade Feu to come back with them, but all of a sudden it seemed that she didn't want to go at all. If she did say no, then Camelot _would _be doomed. At this thought, Arthur drew picked up his sword, he said nothing but his intention was clear, he would take Feu by force if he had to. But Feu knew what he was thinking.

"Do not make me angry Arthur Pendragon!" Feu shouted suddenly, her voice echoing off the walls, and this time Merlin was sure that her eyes had changed colour. They flashed a bright green, and then faded again. "Do not think that you would be able to beat me in a fight." She hissed.

Arthur froze, he didn't move towards Feu, but he didn't move away either. The two glared at each other.

"Fighting isn't going to solve anything!" Merlin said quickly before an argument could start. "Arthur, don't you think we should let Feu decide for herself if she wants to help? She's done enough for us already." He added, looking down at Arthur's hand, which was looking better already.

"But if she does say no, this whole journey will be a waste of time, more people will die!" Arthur argued.

"That may be the case, but taking her to Camelot by force doesn't mean that she's going to help us either!"

"Who says I don't want to help?" Said Feu, "but what's in it for me? I may know very little but I know that Camelot is a place where magical beings take one step and they can be burnt to the stake for what they are. Yet you've come all this way to persuade me to go there! So what's in it for me? A nice chopping block after I've saved the lives of all your people?"

"No," said Arthur with surprising stern, he put down his sword. "I won't let that happen, you'll be safe in Camelot and we can find you somewhere to live, which will be a lot better than here."

"I'm still not sure."

"Trust us, Feu, you'll be quite safe. People will love you because you saved them, you'll have a home, you'll be able to see Gaius again." Said Merlin.

Feu stood there for a minute, her complicated mind working away at hundreds of different thoughts. Merlin and Arthur did nothing to interrupt her; they just watched her carefully, silently hoping.

"All right then," Feu sighed suddenly, and nodded. "If I am to save lives, and if I really am your only hope, then that's a good enough reason, I'll come with you."

Hooray Feu is finally here! But don't think that means the story is almost over, there's still a lot more to go…which is something you probably didn't want to hear! Reviews much appreciated (:


	18. Chapter 18

_I had a choice between updating my fanfic or doing my English homework, hmmm that's a tricky one…hehe (: Please review_

Chapter 18

As soon as Feu agreed to go with them, relief swept over both Arthur and Merlin, they didn't want the journey to be for nothing. But now Feu had agreed to go with them, this didn't mean that they didn't have a long journey ahead of them, and time was not going to slow down for them, of this Arthur was sure.

"We best get going then," he said. "Take all the stuff you need, just make sure it isn't much and we can be on our way."

"What?" Feu didn't look pleased by this statement; "we can't go, not yet. Especially you."

"Why not?" Arthur asked.

"You're hurt, I can't let you just walk back into that forest when you still smell like blood." Arthur opened his mouth to argue, or to point out that she couldn't talk to him like that, but by the swift cheeky grin Feu gave Merlin, she knew this very well and she certainly wasn't finished yet. "It makes me wonder how you managed to survive as you act so dumb!"

"I'm not dumb!" Arthur snapped.

Merlin couldn't help letting out a snort of laughter, Arthur glared at him but Feu seemed please with his reaction. Merlin found himself beginning to compare Feu and Arthur with a mother having an argument with her stubborn son.

"I'm not dumb," Arthur repeated with gritted teeth, still glaring at Merlin, "and I'm not that hurt, it's just a scratch, that's all."

"Oh really?" Feu strode towards Arthur and knelt down behind him. She suddenly started sifting through his hair, Arthur tried to struggle away but she held his head still firmly. Finally Feu found what she was looking for, a nasty looking gash on the top of his head, surrounded by dry blood.

"What are you doing? Ouch!" Arthur said angrily.

"Does this hurt?" Feu asked, poking his wound.

"Ow yes!"

"Not surprising, this wound only seems a few days old. It hasn't been cared for properly, I wondered what that odd smell was around you, no wonder you haven't had many things try to eat you, you smell of dried blood, of old blood."

"Would you stop saying such things!" Arthur said irritated, struggling away from Feu and rubbing his head.

"How did this happen?" Feu asked, ignoring Arthur's rude comment as if she was used to them.

"It's my fault the wound hasn't been looked after properly." Merlin admitted.

"No, I think anything this boy does is because of something stupid he did himself." Feu told Merlin, she seemed to find Arthur's irritated reactions to the words she said quite amusing.

"Well it is my fault." Merlin tried to explain again. "He got hit on the head by a rock when we were passing over the mountains and—"

"Hang on!" Feu interrupted suddenly, it was her turn to look utterly stunned by the words that were being said to her. "You went _over _the mountains?"

"How else were we meant to get here?" Arthur snapped at her.

"Going around the mountains perhaps? That's a dangerous place, I have heard nothing but bad things about them. The mountains may seem like a quicker journey through, but the amount of trouble they cause, and the fact that you have to pass through another forest before reaching this one, makes your journey even longer." Feu explained.

"Well what way would you suggest getting back to Camelot then?" Arthur asked bitterly.

Feu thought for a moment, before saying; "by the sound of it, you travelled North through the forest. I suggest that we go West, that means that when we come out of the forest we can easily go around the mountains, and from there you'll probably know how to get to Camelot."

"Wouldn't that mean spending more time in this forest?" Merlin pointed out.

"I am not doing that!" Arthur said quickly.

"If you keep out of trouble then you'll be safer here than in those mountains." Feu told them. "I know more about this forest than the both of you put together. You have to trust me, or else you won't get anywhere, what do you say?"

"I'll trust you." Said Merlin, remembering what Gaius said about Does relying heavily on trust.

"Merlin, can I have a word with you please?" Arthur hissed suddenly, grabbing Merlin before he could reply and dragging him outside the cave. Feu watched them go with a look of mild interest and amusement.

"What's wrong with you Arthur?" Merlin asked, seeing the look of frustration and annoyance on Arthur's face. "This is what we wanted, we found Feu and she wants to come with us."

"I should be asking you a similar question Merlin, what's the matter with _you_? We meet a complete stranger, wielding an axe…"

"She saved your life."

"That's not my point! This Feu acts like she owns the whole forest, and treats me like a servant or a child. She's telling us what to do, where to go and you just suddenly decide to trust her!"

"Well perhaps you shouldn't irritate her in the first place, Gaius warned us not to make Feu angry—"

"Excuse me," said a voice suddenly, Arthur and Merlin turned to see Feu peering out of the cave at them. "I don't know how much you've been told about me or my species by Gaius or anyone else, but we have very good hearing, and I can hear every single word you're saying about me. So, if you don't mind, could you say it to my face please or just talk a little quieter?"

Arthur stared at Feu, stunned. Being a Prince, he was rarely talked to in such a matter, and Merlin could see that he was about to reply either harshly or rudely, or maybe even both, and that would get them nowhere. This was why Merlin now found himself dragging Arthur away from the cave and away from Feu.

"We have to do as she says Arthur," Merlin whispered to him after they had gone a fair distance, but not too far that they were back into the depths of the forest. "She knows the forest and the surroundings better than we do, she'll be able to take us out of this place quicker than we would alone. You said she was our only chance to help save Camelot, and now you're drudging her and you want to discard her because she's not good enough?"

"Merlin she's dressed like man and—"

"Who cares!"

"You can't speak to me like that!" Arthur snapped, "just because Feu does it, doesn't mean you can!"

"I'm sorry Arthur, but I don't think I have a choice." Merlin said a little calmer. "You have to accept what Feu says, because I doubt she'll agree to help us if we don't. It won't hurt if we spend a night in the cave, we both need a rest or else we won't be able to go anywhere."

"All right," Arthur sighed, he knew Merlin was right, he did feel exhausted. "We'll sleep in the caves but leave the first thing in the morning and head back to Camelot. We don't know what state the City might be in now, and I don't want to waste any more time."

So Arthur and Merlin went back to the cave to tell Feu that they accepted her offer of staying in the cave over night and they had agreed to go through the forest and around the mountains. Merlin could tell that Arthur was still slightly reluctant about what he had just agreed to, but he knew it was for the best.

Feu seemed pleased about this, but acted like she knew that they were going to agree with what she said anyway. Arthur didn't like this, but decided not to comment. Seeing her eyes changed colour when she grew angry had frightened him a little, and he didn't want something like that to happen again, but he still wasn't sure that he trusted her. After a quick meal by a warm fire Feu had made, they settled down on the cold stone floor and tried to get some sleep.

Back in Camelot, little had changed from when Arthur and Merlin had been there on that last terrible night. The fires were still burning, the creature was still returning and people were still disappearing, the only differences now were that there were less buildings around, more people had found shelter in the Castle, and the Castle itself was beginning to crumble.

As Arthur and Merlin often cast their minds back to the people in Camelot, the people in Camelot did the same for them. Every time Gaius or Gwen found a spare moment they found their minds wondering to whatever lost, dark place of the world their friends were. There were so many questions that were impossible to answer. Were they still alive? Had they found what they had been looking for? Would they come back soon? Would Camelot be saved? The Knights were trying their best, but it wasn't good enough. How long would it be before Camelot fell?

But there was nothing the people could do but wait.


	19. Chapter 19

_Grrr, not been impressed about the quality of the last couple of chapters, but hopefully they'll get better once we get to know Feu a bit more and the journey is fully underway again. Please review (:_ Chapter 19

Merlin awoke on the cold stone floor. When he realised how cold and hard the ground truly was, he didn't know how he had managed to get to sleep, and yet he hadn't slept so well since they had left Camelot, perhaps it was because he finally felt safe. He let out a deep breath and watched it float away on the cold night air. He wondered what had woken him. A few moments later, there was a distant sound of movement from outside the cave, unable to go back to sleep and full of curiosity, Merlin got up to investigate.

The fire that had been burning brightly when he had gone to sleep was now just a small orange glow. Merlin stepped tentatively over Arthur, who was snoring loudly, and a motionless figure lying against the cave wall he assumed was Feu. Outside the cave it was even colder, and Merlin shivered, he wondered whether he should go back, but then he heard the mysterious sound again, it sounded like the flapping of wings. Merlin shrugged, he was already outside so he might as well find out what it was.

The sound seemed to be coming from one of the caves. Merlin wandered into the cave on the far right, straining his ears for the sound. But now he was inside the cave, it had been hastily hushed, and now there was nothing but darkness and silence.

"I thought you were the one who wanted sleep." Said a sudden voice behind him.

Merlin whipped around, to see Feu standing at the cave entrance, leaning against the stone wall, her slender figure and face were illuminated by the moonlight behind her. Her sudden appearance had taken him by surprise.

"I, errr, sorry if I woke you." He stammered.

"That's all right, I wasn't really asleep." Feu said casually, walking towards him so that they stood less than a metre apart.

"I heard a noise." Merlin explained.

"It was probably bats, this cave is swarming with them, that's why I don't sleep in here."

"Yeah, that makes sense." Merlin said, looking around at the cave ceiling. He thought he could see some creatures hanging from the ceiling in the dark, their ears twitching, or maybe it was just his imagination.

"Something's troubling you, isn't it Merlin?" Feu said suddenly into the long silence that had followed.

"I'm sorry?"

"Something's on your mind, you can't shake it off. I could tell by the look on your face when you came into the cave, you seem very far away, deep in thought."

"I'm always deep in thought." Merlin admitting, letting his face relax into a grin.

"In that case it won't trouble you to tell me." Said Feu, "go on, tell me."

"It's nothing." Merlin had felt strangely comfortable around Feu, but now she was asking him to tell her what thoughts had been plaguing his mind, he grew uneasy.

"Another good reason why you shouldn't be worried about telling me then." Feu said casually.

Merlin faltered, wondering whether to tell her about what was really bothering him, but she seemed to see his doubt…or smell it.

"All right then," Feu said into the silence filled with thought. "You feel uncomfortable about talking to me. Perhaps you would feel better about me telling you something about myself, since we hardly know anything about each other." She sat casually on a boulder that stood in the cave, leaning back at watching Merlin with her bright eyes. "Ask me a question, anything you like."

"Well…" Feu was indeed a mysterious person, or creature, but Merlin hadn't been around her long enough to have his mind completely filled with questions about who she was, or what she was, so he found himself struggling. He looked down at Feu who was staring at him intensely, and decided that he had to say something; the silence was making him feel uncomfortable. "You knew Gaius."

"I did. He came to a group of Druids that were staying in one of Camelot's forest. He came to warn them that if they did not leave then Uther would hunt them down and kill them. I was only a child when I met him and heard about Uther." Her voice suddenly sounded full of hatred for a few moments, but then she seemed to relax again. "I had the flu, the Druids couldn't cure me, and I think they were slightly afraid of me, so Gaius agreed to help. I got quite attached to him; he was friendly and didn't judge me for who I was, who I am. He came back a few times to see some other children who were sick. Every time I saw him I asked him to come back soon, almost ordered him. I feel so foolish now, because I didn't really understand the danger he was putting himself in talking to Druids, helping them. Then one day he came and had a quiet word with some of the adult Druids, they wouldn't let me go near because they knew I had good hearing. I don't know what he said, but I knew something was wrong, I could smell it, and as soon as he left we had to clear up everything and leave, run away. Apparently, just hours after the knights of Camelot came, but they couldn't find any trace of us. I always hoped that Gaius would still be alive after all he had done, and that he wouldn't be in trouble for helping us."

"He still remembers you." Merlin told her.

"For all the wrong reasons probably." Feu grumbled, the spark in her eyes seemed to fade a little. "I could get easily angry when I was a child, it wouldn't surprise me if I tried to bite him or scratch him one of the times he visited. He was probably told that I had left the Druids and had gone on alone."

"What do you mean by that?" Merlin asked, confused. He wondered how long she had kept everything so secret, so silent from anyone, but perhaps she wanted to keep it that way.

"That's more than one question Merlin." Said Feu, for a moment, Merlin thought he had made a bad mistake, and that she would soon get angry. But a smile grew across her face: "it's all right, you can ask me another question, it wasn't really a question anyway, not a very significant one. The truth was, I don't think the Druids wanted me any more, I wasn't one of them, I was a Doe, my magic was weak and yet my anger strong.

"I was not born a Druid, I was born a Doe. My mother brought me up alone and looked after me, I loved her, and treasure the few memories I have left of her. I was an outsider from the start, but she was an outsider too and we travelled around together. But one day, she disappeared. Do not think that she ran away, she was killed, murdered. I hope I don't meet the person who did kill her, I am not a murderer and wish to stay like that. Luckily Druids were staying in the same area my mother and me were, and they knew my mother so decided to adopt me.

"I got on well with the adults and the few children, but I was still an outsider, still not the same, but this time it was just me, I was all alone. As I got older, I began to realise how different I really was, and I could also sense a change in the Druids as they also came to realise this. I could smell them judging me, and Druids rarely do that. I didn't want them to abandon me, because that's not what Druids should do, so I decided to abandon them. One night, I just got up and left, I took a few things with me, food, blankets, one or two things I could remember them by, I knew they wouldn't mind. I don't know what their reaction was when they saw I was gone, but they were probably expecting it."

"So you decided to come here." Merlin finished for Feu; he suddenly realised how lonely she must have been.

"It's the furthest away from any judgmental beings, especially humans. But you," Feu's sad tone suddenly changed, and her eyes were boring into Merlin, he could now feel the horrible sensation that her piercing eyes were looking into his very soul. "You are different Merlin, you know how it feels to be the outsider, you understand, because you too contain so many mysteries, you too are judged and will be judged for who you truly are. You keep almost as many secrets as me, so many worries, so many memories that you want for forget. All point back to one word: magic."

"Sssh!" Said Merlin hurriedly, worried that Arthur might be awake, if he was, he would probably be listening to every word. And then there would be trouble.

"See that's half the problem," said Feu with a smile, not bothering to lower her voice at all. "You have to keep it so secret, but soon people will discover what has been standing right in front of them, what you have been hiding."

"You're not going to tell anyone are you?" Merlin stepped back, concerned.

"And betray another fellow magical being? Unlikely." Feu laughed. The sound echoed around the walls, it was not a harsh laugh, but sweet like bird song. "So, I've told you something you wanted to know about me, and I know that something's troubling you more than usual, so now it's your turn, what's on your mind?"

"It was," Merlin hadn't realised himself that something was troubling him so much, he was too busy thinking ahead. But now he had a chance to slow down a little, look back he knew what was troubling him. "It was the other night, in the forest, I saw a figure, someone I knew, a friend. Her name was Morgana; she had disappeared a long time ago, I thought I would never see her again. Then one night, she was there, between the trees staring at me. You know this forest more than I do, was she really there? Or am I going mad?"

"Possibly," said Feu quite calmly, "or she could have just been a figment of your imagination, or a fragment of a dream, still clear in your mind after you've been asleep. Maybe you're so worried about her that your mind's playing tricks on you so you think you see her, or perhaps it was a creature that took her form, there are many beasts that use their voices or their appearance to lure people out of safety to eat. Or maybe, she was real, it was your friend, this forest is so dense, so dark and so huge that anyone or anything could be living in it."

"Do you think we could find her?" Merlin asked, his voice and heart suddenly full of hope, but Feu shook her head.

"I don't know where she might be, and you don't want to waste any more time. If she wanted to find you and talk to you, she would have spoken to you that night, but instead she disappeared. If she came here it means she doesn't want to be found. When she left Camelot were you two on good terms?"

"Not really," Merlin muttered, feeling shattered with guilt as he had done on that very night when he tried to kill Morgana…

"Then perhaps it won't be a good thing to go and find her, let her come to you. If you still want to look for her after you get back to Camelot, then you can send out a search party. But for now, it's best to leave it."

Merlin nodded, her knew what Feu said was the right thing to do, and he was glad he had told someone.

"It's going to be daylight soon," said Feu suddenly, standing up. "We better get back to the cave before anyone wakes up and finds we're missing." Merlin nodded again, knowing that the 'anyone' was Arthur, and that she was probably right.

They walked out the cave together in silence. There wasn't any change in light outside; Merlin wondered how Feu had managed to tell how the end was coming to an end. But he would have to ask this question another day, as he accidentally let out a yawn that he didn't realise he was holding in, now he had told someone what had been troubling him, he felt like getting some proper sleep.


	20. Chapter 20

_Woo 37 reviews…my most ever so far for fanfics! :D Thanks for every one who has reviews so far, keep it up! (: and those of you who haven't…why ever not? ;)_

Chapter 20

When Merlin woke up again, he was certain it was morning. The sun was shining dimly through the cave; it seemed more welcoming than before now that they had achieved their goal. Feu was already up, re-lighting the fire and chewing the end of some sort of stick absent-mindedly, she must have collected it from outside the cave when Merlin was still asleep.

"Wake up lazy!" She said to him jokily, grinning as she watched Merlin glancing around, hair ruffled and a confused look on his face.

Feu then turned away from Merlin, and kicked Arthur in the ribs, who was still asleep and snoring loudly. The kick did little to wake him up however, he simply rolled over and grumbled something rude under his breath. Merlin couldn't hear it but Feu glared at Arthur's back, she then handed Merlin a stick from the ground, similar to the one she had been chewing. It looked just like a normal long, thin stick, but Merlin was worried by the strange offering, and thought for a moment that she might be serving poison oak to him.

"It's perfectly safe to eat." Feu reassured him, "it's breakfast."

"Breakfast?" Said a voice behind her, and Arthur sat up suddenly, looking more dishevelled than Merlin but wide awake at the thought of food.

"Yes, breakfast." Feu said harshly to him and handed him another stick. He looked more disgusted than Merlin by this offering.

"I don't eat plants for breakfast." Arthur told her, wondering what was more peculiar, being given a stick for food or watching other people eat it.

"It's not that bad." Merlin reassured him, nibbling his own stick. He wasn't sure how to eat such a thing, because he had never eaten trees before. It didn't taste that bad, Merlin was reminded a little of apples, he wondered what type of tree it was, but knew he wouldn't know what type of tree it was even if Feu told him. The strange breakfast was also rather filling, which Feu explained would be useful on their journey:

"You can't spend your whole time thinking about your stomach, because you'll probably end up in something else's."

"Well that's a pleasant thought." Arthur said sarcastically, and was rewarded with another glare by Feu, but he ignored it.

"How's your hand?" Merlin asked Arthur, after Feu had given up glaring at him and had gone back to the fire.

"A lot better actually." Arthur admitted, looking at it curiously. "That good night sleep gave my head some good too."

"You're welcome." Said Feu loudly. She had finished with the fire and then found some more glass bottles. "Drink this," she told them, "and before you ask, no of course it's not poison, it's water."

It was indeed water, Merlin felt like he hadn't drunk in days and even though he water was stale her was glad of it, but the bottle was very small and he almost finished it in one gulp, Arthur did the same. Merlin had wondered how Feu found anything to drink in this forest, they hadn't even come across a puddle yet, let alone a river. Feu told them to keep the bottles just in case they needed them again.

"Are you too ready then?" She said suddenly.

"Ready for what?" Arthur asked.

"To leave the cave, you said first thing in the morning." Feu pointed out.

"What about all your things?" Merlin asked, looking around the cave floor and walls.

"If I need them again, I know where to find them. I might come back here, after all." Said Feu, but there was a sound in her voice as if she didn't believe herself, and all of a sudden she looked very sad. Merlin decided not to ask her what seemed to be bothering her so much.

They set off into the forest, Feu walking at a fast pace in front of Merlin and Arthur, who were still yawning and rubbing their eyes a little. Both were feeling the effects of sleeping on a stone floor in their muscles, but Feu was sleek and agile as if she had slept on a bed of feathers. Only once did Feu stop to sniff the air, Merlin took this opportunity to catch up with her.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"I can smell trouble in the air, but I suppose that's expected in a place like this. It's nothing to worry about." She said, continuing to walk on.

"How can something smell troubling?"

"There is a different sent in the air, a creature that is not meant to be here, but I doubt it's going to bother us, not for a while anyway. The smell seems to be coming from far away."

"Gaius said that Does had a good sense of smell and hearing." Said Merlin.

"It's important to us, I suppose. You can learn a great deal about someone by how they smell, even by their footsteps." Feu explained.

"Really?" Merlin smiled with interest. "What do I smell like then?" Eating sticks for breakfast and asking someone about his scent made this morning the strangest Merlin had ever had, but for some reason he was enjoying himself.

"You smell sweet, the sweetest person I've ever met in a long time anyway." Said Feu, giving him a glittering smile, but her eyes pierced into him again at the same time. She continued talking, but her voice lowered slightly so Arthur couldn't hear, "though you have a sense of mystery about you, you're not all as you seem and you contain so many secrets. You like to try new things, you're young and adventurous, you almost smell like fresh air. Your footsteps are tentative, I could hear them just behind Arthur's thunderous ones. He's a leader, his footsteps are full of determination, however your footsteps sound like something that's holding back, and animal just about to burst into a run. You long to show who you really are, you want to lead the way too. But things are holding you back."

"That's amazing!" Merlin burst out before he could really stop himself.

"Did I get it right?" Feu asked curiously.

"Spot on!" But it was a scary thought that someone could work out who you were by the way you smelt, the way you walked. Merlin was grateful that not many other people had such a talent. "I expect you could smell us and hear us a mile before we even came close to finding you."

"Not really, you were being very quiet, which was an intelligent thing to do. There are many other noises and smells of the forest to mask your scent. Though after Arthur hurt his hand I could smell that, people's scents are stronger when they bleed, Arthur doesn't smell bitter or sour, but he doesn't smell sweet either. He's determined and tries to do the right thing, but sometimes he isn't sure what the right thing really is, and doesn't want to do it. He was brought up among riches, you can almost smell the gold and the rich food, not fire or earth, though there is fire in his eyes.

"When the tree root grabbed him the whole forest could probably hear his cries, but I suppose it's a shock to anyone who suddenly gets attacked like that. The tree root could probably smell his blood as well, he doesn't smell as bad now, but I would still be aware of any creature that comes your way. I assume you've been doing that already, or else you wouldn't have come this far."

"Well it hasn't been easy." Merlin admitted.

"I doubt it's going to get any easier." Feu grumbled.

Merlin wasn't sure about what he should say to this, so instead he thought of another question that Feu hadn't mentioned to him yet, and now he was curious: "what do you smell like?" He asked with a grin.

"That's a very rude question!" Feu snapped suddenly, taking the smile off Merlin's face. "No one can tell their own scent, that was why you had to ask me in the first place. You wouldn't be able to tell anyway, you humans haven't got a good enough scent, try asking a dog."

"Sorry," said Merlin hurriedly, jogging after Feu who had suddenly picked up her pace. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's all right," said Feu, calming a little. "I suppose you weren't to know," she looked at him for a few moments, as if deciding if he was someone she could trust, she seemed to make up her mind, as suddenly she said: "apparently I smell like spices."

"Spices, meaning you're different, you have variety." Merlin guessed, then he grinned again: "I like spices."

"You're getting good at this." Said Feu, coming to a stop again and smiling at him. "And thank you, not many people give me compliments, especially not strange ones like that."

This statement made Merlin blush a little, and he was about to open his mouth and apologies for what he had said, that he hadn't really meant it, when a voice interrupted his thoughts:

"Can we stop the chatter and continue to walk please?" Said Arthur grumpily; he had just caught up with them. "We have more important things to think about."

"Is he always like this?" Feu asked Merlin, ignoring Arthur but beginning to walk through the forest again.

"Actually, today he's being quite nice." Merlin told Feu as he followed her through the trees, not taking his eyes off her smile.

_Bit random at the beginning, but it kinda shows you what life Feu has…but now you know why this fic is called The Smell of Spices, hooray! :D_


	21. Chapter 21

_I'm afraid this chapter is a bit short, and not much happens, but the next one should be better. Please review (:_

Chapter 21

Conversation ceased after Arthur's interruption, Feu didn't want to say anything else. She strolled ahead of them again, briefly stopping every now and then to suddenly change direction or to gaze about the forest with narrowed eyes. They had been walking for hours, and seemed to be heading deeper in the forest, though it was hard to tell how far they had actually travelled. Hours passed slowly as everyone's focus was on the world around them.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Arthur asked when Feu stopped for the third time in ten minutes to gaze around the forest.

"I know more than you," she said. "But it's starting to get dark, we're going to have to stop."

"Stop? Why?"

"Because we can't travel in the dark, especially not in this place. That's when all the creatures are wide-awake, with sharp noses and ears. We wouldn't be able to last the night without being attacked; we've been lucky so far. If you want to spend the night in this place you can't keep on walking, you'll attract attention. Make a fire to keep the creatures away and keep quiet."

"But we have to keep on going, we haven't covered enough ground." Arthur insisted, it did indeed feel like it was taking an age to fight through the trees.

"We've probably covered more ground than you would be able to in two days. The difference is I know where I'm going," Feu paused, her confident tone and face seemed to falter a little, "roughly." She added.

Arthur looked around at Merlin to see his opinion in the situation, but he just shrugged with a confused look on his face. Not very helpful, but unfortunately Feu did have a good point and Arthur was sick of arguing with her already.

"All right then," Arthur sighed, "you're right, we should stop for the night."

Pleased with the thought that she had managed to win the conversation, Feu then told Arthur and Merlin to get to work and collect firewood, enough to keep them going well into the night.

"Keep an eye on her Merlin," Arthur hissed as they all began to set off in different directions to find decent firewood. "I don't want her wandering off anywhere, but I don't want any more flirting."

"Flirting? What flirting?" Merlin asked.

"Asking Feu about her, flattering her, grinning like you always do when you're up to something." Arthur put on a shrill, high pitched voice that made Merlin turn red. "'I like the smell of spices!'"

"I wasn't flirting with her!" Merlin snapped, but he could feel his cheeks burning so brightly it would probably be enough to scare off any beasts.

"Well then you definitely won't do it this time then won't you." Said Arthur, who was now grinning to himself, "now go and keep an eye on her." He gave Merlin a little push in the direction of where Feu was quickly disappearing off into the forest.

When Merlin caught up with Feu, he found that she was not intending to run away from them, but was doing just as she said, collecting firewood. She already had a handful.

"Here, hold these," she said, shoving what she had into Merlin's hands. She looked up around the trees. "Where did Arthur go?"

"Somewhere," Merlin shrugged, "he can look after himself."

"I hope so." Feu suddenly let out a sigh, "something still doesn't smell right Merlin, something I'm not used to, and unlike you and Arthur, this isn't a safe smell." She shrugged sadly, "but I wouldn't expect you to understand, not many people do, they just think I'm mad."

"I don't think you're mad." Said Merlin he had personal experience of knowing that if there was something different about you, it didn't mean that you were mad. "Lots of people think I'm different because of who I am, but that doesn't bother me, mainly because I know there's nothing I can do about it. You can't change who you are."

"I wish there were more people in the world like you Merlin," Feu smiled, but she still looked troubled. "But to tell you the truth Merlin, I wish I could. I'm a monster."

"No you're not—" Merlin began.

"Sssh!" Feu snapped suddenly.

"What? I'm telling the truth!" Merlin argued.

"No, it's not you." Feu whispered and Merlin was sure he saw her ears prick up. "Can't you hear it?"

"Hear what?"

"Footsteps…Something is following us Merlin. I was right, we are in trouble and it's about to strike. But it's not an 'it', it's a human. I can hear his heavy footsteps, his clink of armour."

"Are you sure it's not Arthur?" Merlin suggested.

"No," Feu shook her head, "that's not Arthur. Where did Arthur go?" She repeated, she sounded more irritated this time.

"I don't know, that way I think." Said Merlin, looking briefly over his shoulder into the depths of the trees.

"Go and find him." Feu ordered, a little rudely.

"Why?"

"Because we might need him if someone's coming after us, and they're not just here to a friendly conversation, they're hear for a fight." Said Feu. "Go on then!" Merlin could hear the urgency in her voice, so quickly turned and ran off into the forest to find Arthur.

It wasn't long after Merlin had set out to look for Arthur, that he realised it was probably a bad idea to do such a thing, as he had no idea where Arthur actually might be. He didn't know how long he wandered around for when he came across Arthur, who didn't look very happy to see him.

"I'm amazed that you still haven't managed to grasp simple tasks such as collecting fire wood yet Merlin." Arthur said disapprovingly.

"Sorry," Merlin replied in a hushed voice, suddenly realising that he had left what he had collected behind.

"And I thought I also asked you to keep an eye of Feu for me, but she doesn't appear to be here." Arthur added.

"I was, but then she told me to go and find you. She said that she could hear something, someone or something's coming and we need to defend ourselves, and she says it's human."

For a moment Arthur looked worried, but then his look of concern was replaced with doubt.

"Did you actually hear anything Merlin?"

"No," Merlin paused, knowing that this perhaps wasn't the best thing to admit. "But she has better hearing than me." He quickly said.

"That's not the point, if you didn't hear it we have no proof of what she was saying was actually the truth, she might have been bluffing to get us out the way."

"But why would she do that?"

"I don't know. She didn't sound very keen on coming with us in the first place, maybe she's changed her mind and decided to run off."

"That's ridiculous, and she sounded generally worried about whatever she could hear Arthur. I don't think she would lie to us, she's an honest person."

"Well we better go and find out then. I hope for your sake she hasn't ran off." Said Arthur.

"She hasn't." Merlin replied, but doubt was beginning to seep into his mind, and that was of no surprise when they rushed back through the trees to find that Feu was nowhere to be seen.

It was the right area, Merlin was sure of it; he recognised the pile of logs and sticks he had dropped when he rushed off to find Arthur. Even Arthur believed Merlin when he said this; he could see the scattered footprints where Merlin and Feu had been walking, stopping occasionally to talk to each other. But there was no Feu.

"I told you she was bluffing!" Arthur said almost triumphantly as his worry and suspicion about Feu running off had been confirmed, but there was nothing to be triumphant about losing Camelot's only hope.

"She must be here somewhere!" Merlin said almost desperately, now not even believing himself. Despite all the things Feu had already told him, he felt that he still didn't really know her.

"Face it Merlin she's gone—"

"Wait!" Merlin said suddenly and a little too loudly.

"Wait for what?"

"Listen." Said Merlin in a whisper; "can't you hear it?" Arthur strained his ears and, like Merlin and Feu before him, he heard the sound of footsteps.

There was something out between the trees, hunting for them, something that they couldn't see. Suddenly the situation became a lot less annoying, and a lot more terrifying.


	22. Chapter 22

_My desktop background on my computer is of Merlin, it's awesome but gives me a bit of a fright when I forget and then suddenly half the Merlin cast is staring at me! Hehe. Anyway, here is today's chapter, I'm afraid it may be a little violent and gory, but I'm sure you'll recover (: please review._

Chapter 22

Arthur unsheathed his sword; the footsteps were circling around them, followed by the snapping of twigs. They were large heavy footsteps, obviously not used to trying to keep quiet.

"Feu?" Arthur called out into the trees, though he highly doubted that it was her, a shiver of fear ran down his spine. Why didn't the thing show its face?

And then it did, but there was little to be truly afraid of, it wasn't a monster, but it wasn't Feu either. It was a soldier; he came out of the trees and stood there, facing them. He wore full armour as if he had just come out of a battle; his sword was also unsheathed. He wore the crest of King Udin.

With only a moments hesitation, the man suddenly ran towards Arthur and Merlin, sword raised. There was no question of whether he was just here for a friendly chat, all that left his lips were an angry cry. Instinctively, Arthur pushed Merlin out of the way, who had no weapon, and met the soldier with a clash of metal on metal. The man was strong, but he hadn't expected Arthur's power and staggered backwards, almost tripping over.

"Get out of here Merlin!" Arthur managed to cry in the few moments he had of the soldier trying to find his balance once more.

Arthur took this opportunity to swing his sword at his chest, to knock the wind out of him, or worse. But the man was faster than he looked; he quickly regained balance and leapt out the way. Arthur tried again, but once more simply felt the brute force of the soldier's sword as it met his. For a few moments the two swords seemed to be locked together, as both men tried to force the other to back away with the strength in their arms.

Suddenly King Udin's solider backed away from Arthur as if he was retreating, but then lashed out with a kick. The attack took Arthur by surprise and he had no time to fight back. The man's foot hit Arthur's chest with great force, Arthur didn't have time to move out the way or even draw breath. Before he knew it he was lying on the earth, gasping for breath. He had just enough strength to lift the top half of his body off the ground, to see the soldier raise his sword for the final time.

Then something came flying out of the trees and landed on top of the soldier before he could land his fatal blow. It happened so quickly no one could see who or what it was, the soldier was taken completely by surprise. He dropped his sword and stumbled away from Arthur, who managed to steadily stand up and see who had come out of the trees.

It was Feu. But she was different, she had changed. Gaius had told Arthur that Feu would be harmless, as long as you didn't make her angry, but he perhaps should have given Arthur and Merlin a better and bigger warning.

Feu's eyes had suddenly turned a deep green colour, just like they had when she began to get annoyed with Arthur and they were full of anger and hate. Claws had grown upon her fingers, red and razor sharp, and they sliced easily through the soldier's armour. Fangs protruded from her mouth, and bit down upon the defenceless soldier as she hissed and spat like a tame cat turned savage. The soldier tried to throw her off his back, but she clung on. She was like a predator, a ferocious sabre tooth tiger.

There was nothing Arthur and Merlin could do, they just stood there, stunned. In the end the soldier managed to throw Feu off his back, blood dripping from his face where Feu's claws had scratched at him, and bite marks from where she had tried to rip out his throat. The soldier's eyes were wide with pain and surprise as his armour now dangled from his body, utterly useless. It was then that the man tried to reach for his sword. Arthur suddenly stepped forward, prepared to do something, he didn't like Feu, and she was nothing more than a monster, but he didn't want her to get killed.

But it wasn't Arthur who killed the soldier in the end, neither was it Merlin (who was about to, for one panicked moment, use his magic) or Feu. The soldier had his sword in hand, and was about to stand up again to finish the terrible, fanged creature off when he froze in mid air. Arthur, Feu and Merlin watched, each as confused and shocked as the other, as the man fell forward, dead.

A two-headed snake looked up at the three surviving people, wondering what to do. It had been following them for quite some time, so silent and sleek that not even Feu had heard it or smelt it, and now finally the stalking had been worth the weight, it had got the easiest meal in a matter of seconds. A single jump, a single bite on the back of the neck. Blood was still pouring from the dead victim.

Arthur was the first to do anything; he grabbed his own sword and swung it at the snake's neck.

"No don't!" Feu shouted, the green colour fading from her eyes now the enemy was dead, and the claws and fangs gone.

But she spoke too late, and Arthur sliced off both the heads of the snake. It lay there for a few moments, headless and twitching. And then three more heads began to grow out of it. Hissing with more rage than Feu.

"Run!" Feu cried as the snake with six pairs of eyes and six pairs of fangs began to race towards them.

All three of them turned and ran into the trees, disappearing out of sight, the snake decided not to follow, it wasn't worth chasing something when it already had food that would easily be stolen by other creatures of the night. Large black shapes were already gazing down at the bloody sight from trees like greedy vultures.

It didn't take Feu long to notice they weren't being followed and skidded to a halt, Arthur and Merlin almost ran into her.

"What was he doing here? I thought no soldiers came into this area." Said Merlin, gasping for breath.

"I have no idea, but it certainly seems that he knew we were here, and was looking for us." Arthur replied.

Feu wasn't listening to their conversation; she had something else on her mind. With a sudden sweep she knocked Arthur's sword out of his grip, which was still dripping with snake blood, and held it at his neck.

"Feu what are you doing!" Arthur snapped, as he stood frozen to the spot. He could feel the point of the sword digging into his throat, almost piercing the skin.

"I disappear for five minutes and you immediately think I've abandoned you to die in this forsaken place." Feu said calmly, but her voice was tinged with hatred.

"Feu, put the sword down…" Merlin said slowly.

"It's not true," Arthur argued, "I didn't think that—"

"Yes you did!" Feu snapped, "I heard you, your arrogant voice travels further than you think."

"How was I meant to know you could climb trees!" Arthur burst out.

"I assumed that you had been warned that Does relied heavily on trust, they need trust. I told you to trust me, and yet you don't, I highly doubt you ever will." Feu took a step forward, the sword dug deeper into Arthur's neck. "How can I go on knowing that you're a liar, that you would easily betray me and that you wouldn't care about what happened to me, or anyone else?"

"Feu," Merlin dared to take a step forward. "Think about what you're doing."

"Don't worry Merlin, I've thought very carefully about this. For all I know Arthur probably wants me dead, it's either him or me, and I know which one to choose…"

"I don't want you dead!" Arthur cried out desperately "Why would I? I need your help."

"But as soon as I've helped you, you'll cast me away as if I'm nothing. You don't see me as anything important because you never think twice. If I die trying to help you, you won't care, you'll carry on as if nothing happened and forget about me, forget that I was ever born."

"I won't!" Said Arthur hurriedly.

"He won't!" Merlin put in, shaking his head vigorously.

"Stay out of this Merlin!" Feu snapped, before turning her attention back to Arthur. "Will you trust me from now on then?"

"Yes!" Arthur almost shouted, sweat beginning to trickle down his forehead as the cold blade of his own sword pressed against his thudding pulse.

"With everything, not just to get out of having your throat slit." Feu told him. "Whatever happens, you'll have to trust me. If I disappear like that again, you'll know that I'm not just leaving you to die, I agreed to help you, and that's what I'm going to do. But you have to trust me."

"All right, whatever happens I'll trust you. I trusted you with taking us back home and defeating the monster, I won't doubt you again!"

"Good." Said Feu with a small smile, and she dropped the sword. "I'm glad we sorted that out. Now it's getting dark and I still want us to build that fire, animals are going to be attracted to that stinking snake's blood." And she turned and walked off to find firewood, as if nothing had happened.

There was a pause.

"Are you all right?" Merlin asked Arthur, who was rubbing his throat gingerly.

"Yes I'm fine." Arthur sighed; he could still feel where the point of his own sword had been at his throat. For a moment then, he actually thought that Feu was going to kill him.


	23. Chapter 23

_Sorry for the wait for this chapter, I actually uploaded this on fanfic yesterday, but then I actually forgot to add the chapter to my story!…yes it's been a bit of a bad week! Hope this will make up for it (:_

_Does anyone see anything developing between Merlin and Feu yet? And can anyone remember King Udin talking about sending out a spy? Please review (:_

Chapter 23

Merlin stood frozen in the depths of the forest. His senses tingled with fear and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end. He could hear something close by, some sort of creature crying out softly. He thought for a moment it might be a bird, but he had never heard any bird make such a strange noise.

Darkness had truly set over the forest now, and it had happened horribly quickly. They hadn't even managed to build a fire yet. Feu had disappeared off into the forest again shortly after she had threatened Arthur, but this time Arthur decided not to comment, instead he pretended that nothing had even happened. Arthur sat himself down on the cold forest floor, and tried to light a fire with two flints, his attempts quickly turning into acts of desperation. With no sign of even a spark, he blamed Merlin for not getting enough firewood and what they had was too damp, so Merlin set off to find some more. Usually in such circumstances he would have found it amusing to see Arthur struggling with a fire, knowing fully well that he could light it without even needing flints, but today it didn't seem so funny.

Now Merlin stood in the depths of the forest, alone, listening, as the strange noise seemed to fade away. It sounded oddly familiar, but he couldn't say why or what it even was. For a fleeting moment Merlin thought it might have been Morgana again, but the memory of her face in the forest was now fading, and Merlin was becoming more certain as time passed that it was probably just a dream, Morgana wasn't here. And if it had been Morgana, would she even want to speak to him, after all that had happened? Morgana's strange appearance didn't explain what the strange noise in the forest was though, and now Merlin was becoming curious, he wanted to know what it was. He began to edge closer to where he thought the noise was coming from.

It didn't take Merlin long to find out where the noise was coming from and why he found it so familiar. It wasn't Morgana and it certainly wasn't a bird. It was Feu, and she was crying. She was standing with her back to him, head in hands to try and mask the tears that were pouring out of her and trying to control the sobs ripping through her throat.

"Feu?" Merlin said in a whisper, wondering whether to step closer. What he had seen less than an hour ago had shaken him badly. Feu certainly was different, she was frightening even, what Merlin had seen made her more like a monster than a human. And yet here she was, crying, monsters don't cry.

"I'm really sorry." Feu replied in a quiet voice. She had taken her hands down from her face, but she hadn't turned around yet.

"Sorry for what?" Merlin asked.

"For seeing…that, that horrible creature. Me, I can't help it, it just happens. I was only trying to stop that man and I turned into that…thing."

"You can't help who you are." Merlin said in the most reassuring voice he could muster.

"You're scared of me now aren't you?"

"I'm not scared of you."

"Yes you are!" Feu snapped, and she whipped around to face Merlin. Her eyes were full of the tears that were still running down her cheeks, and there were scratches on her face where her fingernails had torn at her cheeks with anger. "I can see it in your eyes." Feu told him, her voice cracking. "I can hear it in your voice. You finally see who I am, a monster."

"You're not a monster, it's what's inside that counts." Merlin tried to assure her.

"That _is _what I am inside!" Feu almost shouted. "Do you see now? Do you see why the Druids were afraid of me? Do you see why I thought it was better to live alone so no one could see me angry? I can't even bare to look of my own reflection sometimes because I can't bare to reflect on what I've done, what I am." Then Feu burst into angry sobs again, and brought her hands back up to her face to cover the fresh tears.

"Stop that." Said Merlin with unusual harshness. He went up to Feu and pulled her into a tight hug, "you have to accept what you are and move on, and you're _not _a monster. I'm not scared of you." And as he said this, Merlin suddenly realised that what he was saying wasn't just words to lend Feu some comfort, it was the truth. Feu wasn't frightening, and she wasn't a monster. Feu seemed to sense this as well.

"You're not lying." She said quietly, her head buried in his shoulder. She seemed to have stopped crying. "You really think that?"

"I think…" Merlin began wondering if he should tell Feu something that had been on his mind ever since he had met her. But he never finished his sentence, as something made Feu's head snap up and her ears prick up.

"Did you hear that?" Feu whispered.

"Yes." Merlin nodded. He could hear the snapping of twigs in the trees, and a chattering noise he was sure he had heard before.

Feu pulled away from Merlin and got down onto her knees. She peered into the trees, her sharp eyes searching for something to move. Suddenly she saw it: the twitch of a single leaf of a fern. She dived her hand between the plant and gripped something hard. Merlin heard a squealing noise as Feu pulled out of the ferns a small grey creature with long spindly legs and yellow eyes. It was struggling frantically with Feu's grip, but she kept a tight grip on its neck.

"Dunkel you sneaky little rat of a spy!" Feu growled dangerously.

"I've seen that thing before," said Merlin slowly. "It had been following us in the mountains."

"It's still following you by the looks of it." Feu told him as her eyes narrowed, the creature finally stopped struggling at the sight of her face. "What are you doing here?" She demanded.

"Can't an innocent creature wander around in the forest at night?" The grey creature asked, in a croaking high pitched voice, showing rows of sharp teeth. It tried to look innocent, but failed horribly.

"Not if they're up to no good." Feu growled again.

"What's going on?" Arthur suddenly came through the trees, looking at this strange scene as the creature stuck his tongue out at him. "I heard shouting." He explained.

"You have a follower." Said Feu darkly; her eyes still fixed on the creature.

"I haven't been following anyone…" Said the creature as innocently as it could.

"Don't lie to me Dunkel!" Feu snapped, giving the creature a shake. "I'll ask you again, what are you doing here?"

"Ow!" Dunkel howled as it swung from side to side. "Stop that!"

"I will when you tell me the truth."

"Yes, I have been following you!" Dunkel snapped, it glared at Feu, but then it gave a little grin. "I'm surprised you couldn't hear me, has something been distracting you lately?" His eyes made a quick glance towards Merlin.

"Stop messing around Dunkel! I'm not in the mood; you've been following us. Tell me why or I'll tear you're throat out."

"I haven't…all right all right!" Dunkel squealed as Feu's eyes flashed green and she drew Dunkel's neck closer to her mouth. "I was told to."

"Who told you? Who sent you?"

"I don't think that information is of interest to you." Said Dunkel suddenly; he had seen the panicked look in Feu's eyes and he decided to take advantage of it, giving him more confidence. He folded his spindly arms and looked away from Feu.

"Don't let me feed you to a werewolf Dunkel, I know where to find one!" Feu shouted threateningly. Dunkel's confidence disappeared as quickly as it had come.

"OK OK, it was a King who sent me."

"Which King? There are hundreds of Kings!" Feu snapped.

"King Udin?" Said Arthur suddenly, he felt like his stomach had just turned to stone. King Udin only meant trouble.

"Yes," Dunkel nodded, a mixture of delight, fear and madness in his yellow eyes. "He heard that you were coming so he sent me to go and find you and then send men after you."

"Why did you agree Dunkel? You know he's a bad man." Said Feu.

"Because he would have killed me if I said no, I was locked in his dungeons, I had no choice! But he was right." Dunkel twisted his head round to look directly at Arthur. "He said that you needed to be got rid of, he said you were nothing but trouble."

"Is that why we had a soldier come after us?" Feu asked.

"Well I couldn't kill all three of you," Dunkel told them matter-of-factly, he paused and looked at Feu closley. "You killed the soldier didn't you?" He grinned horribly; "when the King finds out, when the soldier never returns, he'll send more, and this time you won't escape so easily."

"You don't know that," said Feu defiantly, "and in a few days we'll be out of this forest, just you wait."

"You won't be able to work your way out of this forest." Dunkel sniggered.

"I will!" Feu argued, "and when the King finds out that you've failed, he'll kill you."

"No!" Dunkel squealed, eyes widening with fear. "Don't let him kill me!"

"Sorry—" Feu began, not sounding as if she was sorry at all.

"No wait, Feu." Said Arthur, "maybe he could come with us, he could help us find a way out of this forest, that way he won't get killed."

"Do you really think that taking this little thing with us is a good…ouch!" As Feu had turned her head to talk to Arthur, Dunkel and sunk his razor sharp teeth into her hand. She dropped him immediately and he scuttled away into the undergrowth.

"Are you all right?" Merlin asked, bending down to Feu as blood flowed from her hand.

"I'm fine," Feu said through gritted teeth. "Little scoundrel, don't worry, he's not poisonous in fact he's hardly deadly at all, the only thing he's useful for is spying."

"We can have a look at your hand over the fire, now I've finally got it started, and then you can have some rest." Said Arthur, "I've had enough of being attacked for one night."

Feu nodded in agreement, and allowed Merlin to help her up, they began to head back to the fire.

"There aren't really any werewolves are there?" Merlin asked cautiously after a few moments of silence.

"We've got a whole army coming after us in this forsaken forest and you're worried about werewolves?" Feu laughed, "no, there aren't any around here."

And Feu was right; werewolves were the last things to worry about.


	24. Chapter 24

_Only 5 reviews for the last 4 chapters! ): Hopefully this chapter will make up for it…?_

Chapter 24

Feu watched the sparks dance over the fire, she followed them as they flew through the air and then fell back into the flames, which crackled happily as it ate away at the dried logs. She enjoyed its warmth and its strange beauty as she sat before it on a tree stump, Merlin was sitting next to her, looking carefully at her hand.

It was now the middle of the night, and the forest was alive with the buzzing of insects and the calling of birds and mammals, but none came towards the fire. Arthur had fallen asleep a long time ago, but Feu couldn't sleep, despite the fact she refused to admit she was in any pain at all and didn't let anyone inspect her hand. Finally she let Merlin have a look.

Feu didn't seem worried about her hand, but Merlin was, she had warned them about creatures that would be able to smell blood, and now she was probably sending a message from miles around that they were here. He himself could smell something, it brought him back to a time when travellers arrived in Camelot and were selling all sorts of things from across the world. Merlin remembered walking passed them with treasures of all different shapes and sizes, objects and foods and spices he had never seen before. Such exotic and different smells filled the streets for weeks even after the travellers left, but no one complained, it left warm memories behind, and now that smell was coming back to him.

"I can smell those spices now." He told Feu.

She looked at him with slight alarm, and pulled her hand out of his grasp.

"Sorry," Merlin said quickly, "I didn't mean to insult you or anything. I'm just trying to help."

"I know," Feu replied, and gave him a small smile, but didn't let him see her hand.

"You trust me don't you?" Merlin asked, he tried not to smile as he said this, because he knew Feu couldn't really say no to this.

Feu hesitated for a moment, and then sighed. "Yes, I do trust you." And she let him take her hand again as he tried to bandage it up with the few supplies they had left. "I haven't been able to trust someone so much in a long time." Feu admitted, she looked at Merlin closely. "There's something about you Merlin, but I don't know what. Ever since the beginning I felt like I could tell you things that I haven't told anyone else. Perhaps it's because I haven't spoken to anyone in a long time. I've forgotten how nice it is to have company."

"Maybe because we're both similar." Merlin suggested.

"In what way?"

"Well, we both have something to hide I suppose."

"You mean your magic?" She asked.

"Ssh!" Said Merlin hastily, glancing over at Arthur to see if he was still asleep. Feu laughed.

"I was told that Camelot fears magic, but you seem to be just as scared, and you're a magician!"

"It's not funny." Said Merlin, but he couldn't help smiling himself, Feu's laugh seemed to light up the forest around them.

Given some new confidence by this, he lent forward and blew into the fire, his eyes flashed gold and suddenly a figure of a dragon, tall and proud, leapt up through the flames. It hung there for a few moments before disappearing again. Feu grinned when she saw this.

"I can't do anything like that, my mother used to tell me that our magic was just for self defence and nothing else, which doesn't really make it as beautiful." She explained.

"Not many people see that magic can be beautiful," said Merlin, sitting back on the stump next to Feu. "It's nice to find someone who does."

"It's nice to find anyone who understands anything about me." Feu replied.

A long silence followed as both thought of what else to say, and they both blushed with embarrassment as the quiet continued. They felt like children again, young and carefree, but stuck in a situation that they were not used to, and didn't know how to react. The whole forest seemed to have gone silent, drawn in by their conversation that seemed to have brought them closer together just by saying how they felt.

In the end Feu broke the silence:

"Thank you." She said.

"Thank me for what?" Merlin asked, confused.

"For understanding me, for trusting me, for looking after me. Some people need a time to do those things." As Feu said this, she glared at Arthur's sleeping figure.

"Don't blame him, he was brought up in a world where people like you are feared. He's more caring then you would think sometimes." Merlin assured her.

"You were brought up in a world where people would cast me away, and yet you're not scared." Feu pointed out.

"Well, I suppose I'm different." Merlin mumbled.

More silence fell.

"I suppose we'd better get some sleep now, as soon as the sun's up we will start moving. We've probably got a group of soldiers following our tracks now as we speak." Feu said.

"Yeah you're right." Merlin nodded, he had forgotten for a moment how much danger they were always surrounded by in this forest.

"Thank you again." Said Feu, standing up.

"I still don't understand what for."

"For finding me." Feu bent down and hastily kissed him on the cheek, before settling down in front of the fire, and falling asleep. Merlin didn't find it so easy to fall asleep.

Feu was right, as soon as the sun began to break over the trees all three of them found themselves walking through the forest that was still half in darkness. Feu was the only one who was fully awake and alert that morning, and she needed to be, she was the only one who would be able to hear the soldiers coming from a long distance. For most of the morning she kept quiet, ears pricked up rather like a rabbit, and racing through the trees. Merlin and Arthur lagged behind, still half asleep, yawning and rubbing their eyes.

By midmorning however, there didn't seem to be any danger near by, and Feu slowed her pace, she became less distant and more talkative. In the end it was Arthur leading the way, while she and Merlin lagged behind, talking as if they'd been friends for years. Arthur didn't seem to mind at first, but occasionally he turned around and reminded them that it would be nice to get out of this forest at some point. Feu ignored him though, she was happy, she couldn't remember laughing so much.

They had been walking without a rest all day, so all were grateful when Feu said that there was a river near by. She could hear the trickling of water (and thankfully, not the stomping footprints of guards) so they decided to rest by the river when they came across it.

Merlin had forgotten the last time he had seen running water, the river ran through the trees and into a clearing and was surprisingly deep. But it was clear and cool and Feu assured them that it was safe enough to drink. They sat beside the river, refilled their supplies, which were close to empty, and had a good drink themselves.

They had bearly sat down for five minutes when Feu became unusually quiet again.

"Something's coming," she murmured, more to herself than to either Arthur or Merlin. Fear flickered in her eyes. "I can hear it."

"More men?" Arthur asked, but he already knew the answer.

"Lots more," Feu nodded. "The forest didn't attack us because it knew that we were already someone else's prey. And now the predator is coming fast." An icy atmosphere seemed to decent around them.

"Which way are they coming?" Arthur stood up and drew his sword, glancing around the trees. He couldn't hear or see anything yet.

"It's hard to tell…from all directions. They're everywhere." Feu's distress was becoming clear in her voice now and her eyes had become wide and her face was pale.

"We're being ambushed!" Exclaimed Merlin, standing up as well and gazing around the trees. "What do we do?"

"Just keep calm," said Arthur, not sounding calm at all. "We can defeat them."

"There are three of us!" Feu pointed out in a high pitched squeak of a voice, scrambling to her feet. "And there's at least twenty!"

"Don't panic." But now Arthur could hear the treading of careful footsteps, first at a quick pace, but then slowing to a quiet stop. "Where are they?" He asked again in a lower voice.

"They're—" but Feu had no time to finish her sentence.

Just like she had feared, the soldiers had them ambushed, and now they came bursting from out of the trees all around. Feu was right, there were at least twenty, with swords, spears, and even a few archers, their bows and arrows raised.

Arthur was first to react, raising his sword to face the soldiers coming towards him. Merlin and Feu were standing by the river still, Feu had already turned into her angry self, eyes flashing bright green, hissing like a cat. But she didn't have eyes in the back of her head, and Merlin saw a soldier charging towards her from behind, sword raised high. Before he could think of anything else to do, Merlin pushed Feu out the way, taking the full force of the soldier as he charged into him. Caught off balance, and surprised by the strength of the soldier, Merlin was knocked over and fell into the river, within seconds he found himself completely submerged in the freezing waters.

Merlin quickly gathered his wits and tried to get out of the water, but firm hands were pinning him down. Merlin suddenly realised with a jolt of terror that he couldn't get up, he couldn't move. He was trapped underwater, and he couldn't breath. He kicked and struggled, but there was nothing he could do as the soldier held him underwater, waiting for him to drown.

Feu saw what was happening to Merlin, and let out a scream, calling out his name; she raced towards the soldier who had his hands around Merlin's neck. But she couldn't get very far, there were soldiers all around, and they blocked her path. They were going to kill her before they killed Merlin, but she was more desperate and angry than ever. In her anger her unexpected strength and speed helped Feu cut down the soldiers, but more kept getting in her way. Feu shouted out Arthur's name for him to go and save Merlin, but Arthur too was surrounded by soldiers and was also trying to avoid the occasional arrow from an archer, there was nothing he could do.

Merlin needed air, he needed it now, his lungs were screaming. He wanted to cry out for help, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to think of a magic spell that would save him, but his brain was becoming panicked and confused, he couldn't think straight. Merlin could feel his arms and legs getting weaker and weaker. He thought that perhaps if he laid still, the soldier would assume he was dead and leave him be. But the soldier wasn't moving. Merlin felt like screaming, black spots were beginning to form in front of his eyes, he yearned to swallow the water as if it was air, but he couldn't.

Suddenly the soldier was pulled away, and another figure took its place, one Merlin knew. He could just make Feu out through the ripples on the water, and the enveloping darkness. He knew she was calling out his name, but it was too late, he was too weak, he was suddenly feeling very tired, he hadn't the strength to pull himself out the water. Feu arms reached towards the water, to pull him out and into safety as the blackness came closer.

The last thing Merlin saw was other figures, soldiers, grabbing Feu and pulling her away, as she kicked at them desperately and screamed and screamed his name.


	25. Chapter 25

_Warning: romantic bit coming up at the end of chapter! When I was writing it I didn't know whether to go all gooey or to be sick…seeming as this chapter's up I survived anyway! Haha, please review (:_

Chapter 25

Feu had little experience of magic, nor did she know many magic spells, but the Druids had taught her a few and thanks to her mother it ran in her blood, and now she was using it for the first time in years. Feu had never felt so angry in her life, her hands grew hot like burning coals as she seized one of the men who were dragging her away tightly by the arms by the face. He screamed with surprise and pain and fell away. Feu then began to throw stones, hundreds of stones, without the use of her hands. They simply rose into the air and pelted themselves at the shocked soldiers, smashing into their helmets with surprising force. Suddenly then men weren't fighting two defenceless people, they were fight two defenceless people and about a ton of rocks.

Arthur didn't know much about what was happening behind him, he was having his own problems, there seemed to be an endless number of soldiers coming towards him, and he was trying desperately to fight them off. They were good fighters, he was better, but they weren't prepared to give in yet. He just managed to duck out the way as an arrow flew past his shoulder.

"Feu look out!" Arthur cried as an archer raised his bow towards her. He knocked the archer off his feet before he could fire the arrow, and turned to see that Feu wasn't listening to anything Arthur was saying, and that she was fighting about five men at once with flying rocks.

The sight made Arthur freeze on the spot with wonder and confusion. The men began to fall back, or fall to the ground as the rocks shattered their skulls. But Feu wasn't trying to fight them off any more; she was trying to get to the river. They kept on pulling her away and trying to land a fatal blow with their swords, but she attacked them with fangs and claws.

It didn't take Arthur long to work out what Feu was so distressed about, he heard her calling Merlin's name, but he was nowhere to be seen. Arthur immediately realised that Merlin was in trouble, but there was nothing he could do about it; there were too many soldiers. When he saw Merlin's body lying underwater, Arthur understood the full scale of what was happening and like Feu, began to panic and fight desperately to try and get to Merlin quicker. Arthur tried to push the soldiers out the way to get to the river, but his way was blocked, and he already had a feeling it was too late.

The soldiers were finally starting to fall away when they saw the dead men around them. They saw that they had underestimated what good fighters they would come across, they saw the anger in Feu's eyes, and they saw the blood on the ground, the trees, even some flowing down the river. By this time there were less than ten soldiers left, and these were the ones that had more brains than bravery, so they decided that it would be better to leave the forest before all of them were dead. Their mission a failure, they turned and fled back into the trees.

By the time the soldiers would have got back to their King, to lie to him that Arthur was indeed dead, there would only be three of them left. They may have surrendered but the forest never does, and their blood and the blood of their fellows could be smelt from miles around.

When the soldiers had disappeared into the shadows of the forest, a sudden hush seemed to fall upon the clearing; the whole event seemed to have only taken a few minutes and now the forest fell into almost total silence.

Before Arthur could do anything, Feu was already down by the river, pulling Merlin out of it. The water had made him a lot heavier than she had expected, but she managed to haul him onto the bank, where he lay motionless.

"Merlin?" Feu said gently, kneeling beside him and shaking him tentatively by the shoulders.

No response.

"Merlin!" She shouted suddenly, shaking him even harder.

Still nothing.

"MERLIN!" Feu gave out a terrible shrieking sound, and seemed to begin to attack Merlin in despair, shaking him roughly and hitting him, as if it would somehow wake him up.

"Don't!" Arthur rushed over to Feu and tried to pull her away from Merlin before she could do any more damage. But she lashed out at Arthur, eyes flashing green, claws just narrowly missing his face.

But Arthur knew why she was so angry, why she kept on shaking him, he could see it himself. Merlin wasn't breathing.

"Feu, step away from him, I'm sorry but there's nothing we can—" Arthur began, angrily rubbing at his eyes as tears ran down his face before he could stop them.

"Don't say that!" Feu shrieked, "he's going to be OK, he's going to wake up! Merlin wake up!" She shook him again.

Nothing.

Feu grew angry again, why wasn't Merlin waking up? Part of her knew what had happened, but she refused to believe it. There was no chance that Merlin was dead, she should be the one who is dead. Why him? Why him! She screamed in anger and thudded Merlin's chest with her fists, punching his heart.

"Feu stop it!" Arthur cried desperately, he tried to pull Feu away from Merlin again, but she shook him off.

"Leave me alone!" She shrieked. "You don't understand, this isn't fair! This is my fault! Merlin wake up, WAKE UP!" And she began punching him in the chest again, full of sorrow and rage.

Then something extraordinary happened.

Merlin woke up.

His eyes snapped open and he jerked forward, coughing and spluttering out water, eyes watering, his lungs gasping for air. It took Feu and Arthur completely by surprise, they both leapt back, unable to believe their eyes.

Merlin looked up at them; unable to remember where he was or understand why he was there and why Arthur and Feu both seemed to be crying and looking so afraid.

"What happened?" He gasped.

"Are you sure you're all right?" Arthur asked for what felt like the fifteenth time in five minutes.

"Yes." Merlin said again.

"You look like death."

"Why thank you." Said Merlin sarcastically, but he did look very pale and he himself felt like death.

Arthur and Merlin were sitting by a warm fire, they hadn't gone far from the river, Arthur and Feu seemed to decide at exactly the same time that Merlin shouldn't be going anywhere for the rest of the day. Merlin constantly tried to persuade them that he was feeling fine, despite the fact that he felt dreadful, and it showed on his face. So they left the river and set up camp near by under the cover of the trees. No one had spoken much until darkness had fallen.

"You know you really scared me today," Arthur admitted.

"Well, you don't have to worry about me," Merlin told Arthur jokily, but he didn't find it funny at all, and neither did Arthur.

"Well I'm going to get some sleep," said Arthur after a brief silence. "And you should too. You'll feel better in the morning."

Merlin nodded, but didn't say anything. He looked over at Feu, who was sitting on the opposite side of the fire; she had said nothing since the incident. After Arthur settled down to sleep, Merlin went over and sat next to her.

The burning fire lit Feu's face up in a yellow glow, and Merlin thought the same thing he thought every time he saw her: 'wow, she's beautiful.' However Feu's face was sad and she was in deep thought, the spark in her eyes seemed to have gone out. Merlin didn't say anything until he was sure that Arthur was asleep, he suddenly felt like he wanted to take the opportunity with Feu without Arthur's judging eyes upon them.

"How are you feeling?" Merlin asked gently.

Feu nodded, but didn't say anything, Merlin assumed that this meant 'I'm fine.'

"You don't seem yourself."

"Why are you asking all these questions about how I'm feeling, shouldn't you be worrying about yourself?" Feu pointed out, glancing at Merlin, her stunning blue eyes making Merlin's mind freeze in mid thought.

"I just—" _because if there would be the slightest thing wrong with you, I wouldn't be complete, _Merlin thought desperately. "Like I said, you just don't seem yourself."

Feu sighed deeply and sadly, "I thought I had lost you today, I thought you had really gone. The only person I cared about almost died today. It's all my fault, if I wasn't here it wouldn't have happened, I'm a curse." She explained.

"It's not your fault," Merlin put a comforting arm around her, she smiled at him, but it faltered.

"You shouldn't have pushed me out of the way, I should have taken that blow." She shrugged off his arm, annoyed with herself. "It's my fault you ended up in the river."

"But I wouldn't let anything happen to you," Merlin told her, "and you saved my life today."

"I know, but I don't know how, it just happened. It had nothing to do with me, it was a miracle that's all." Feu paused, and continued a little quieter. "My mother used to tell me that everyone has a fallen angel from heaven that will follow you and look after you, help in the greatest time of need. It was your fallen angel, not me."

"Well perhaps you're my fallen angel." Merlin said.

"You really think that?" Feu asked, looking up into his eyes.

"I know it." Said Merlin.

And they kissed in the firelight.


	26. Chapter 26

_Just want to say before you read this chapter that Arthur's opinoins in this chapter are not mine, it is just how I think me might react. If you disagree with what's said for whatever reason, don't have a go at me, it's just a story! Afraid this chapter's not as good as the others, but I hope you enjoy anyway. Will update…probably not tomorrow, as Wednesdays are busy for me, perhaps the day after. Reviews are much appreciated (: _

Chapter 26

Arthur was surprised to find that he was the first one awake on the cold grey morning, the day after the fight beside the river. He got up, limbs stiff as they always were, (his body still hadn't got used to sleeping on the cold forest floor) and shivered in the cold morning air.

The first thing Arthur did was put his armour on; he was more alert than ever of the forest around them, he didn't know what could be running out of the trees next. He sat beside the fire, poking the faintly growing ashes with a stick waiting for Feu and Merlin to wake up. Arthur also felt hungry, and wondered about getting himself some breakfast, but as he looked around at the trees looming down at him, he decided it was probably best to go hungry for a bit longer than get himself poisoned.

Arthur waited a little longer for someone to stir, glancing every now and then at a lumpy blanket, which he assumed had Merlin beneath it, he could see Merlin's dark hair just poking out from underneath. He cleared up the area where they had been sleeping, making sure that there was little trace that anyone had been in the area while waiting. Arthur didn't want to disturb Merlin, especially after what happened the day before, but in the end, Arthur grew impatient and fed up of waiting around:

"Wake up Merlin," he said eventually, "we haven't got all day." He looked around the clearing, "where's Feu?"

Merlin's head poked out from under the blanket, he looked very guilty about something, and spoke in a very quiet voice, like a child when they knew that they had done something wrong and were about to get into trouble for it.

"Arthur," Merlin said slowly, as if he was picking his words very carefully. "I have something to tell you…"

"What?" Arthur asked, but before he could say anything else something _moved _next to Merlin, and another head appeared beside him.

"Hello Arthur," said Feu with a grin. "Would you like to join us?"

Arthur would have liked to think that there was a perfectly innocent explanation about the current situation he was staring at, if he had been a little younger and a little more foolish, he may have been able to think up of one and move on. But the look on Feu and Merlin's face explained everything.

The three stared at each other, Merlin looking guilty, Arthur looking embarrassed, and Feu trying not to laugh at Arthur and Merlin's faces.

"Merlin," said Arthur, just as slowly and through gritted teeth, he could feel his cheeks burning. "Can I have a word with you?"

"Yes, but…" Merlin began tentatively.

"What?"

"Can I put some clothes on first?"

"Hurry up!" Arthur growled, trying not to shout, not sure of what else to say to this, he found himself speechless. He knew his face had turned bright red now, it felt like it was on fire.

"Don't worry Merlin," said Feu, turning away from Arthur and closing her eyes again, "I'm sure he's just jealous."

"This is not funny!" Arthur snapped at her, "I'll speak with you later."

He then turned away and stormed off into the forest, trying to control his rage, luckily missing Feu sticking her tongue out at his retreating back. When alone, Arthur found himself pacing up are down, his mind racing:

_What were they thinking?_ He thought over and over again, pacing up and down. _Gaius told us to be careful, he should have written a list of what he meant when he said 'be careful'. Number one, don't get killed, number two, don't get followed, number three don't listen to stupid farmers and go over mountains! Number four, don't make Feu angry and number five, whatever you do, do not, repeat, DO NOT sleep with Feu! How could Merlin do such a thing? Doesn't he realise how wrong this is? I'm so angry I could…_

"Arthur?" Said a timid voice behind him. Arthur turned to see Merlin standing there, looking very nervous and still quite guilty.

"Merlin!" Arthur burst out loudly before he could stop himself. "What were you thinking!"

"Sorry…I don't know what I was thinking, one thing lead to another and it just…happened." Merlin shrugged.

"Oh that makes perfect sense!" Arthur snarled sarcastically, grabbing Merlin suddenly by the scruff of the neck. "These things don't just happen Merlin! I would perfectly understand if you were at home or if you were _married_!" Merlin decided this was probably not a good time to interrupt Arthur from his rant to point out that his mother had never married. "Has no one taught you anything Merlin! You can't…do these things with someone you're not married too! It's not right, why did you do it Merlin? To just make the situation we're in even worse!"

"Because I…You wouldn't understand."

"Try me!" Arthur growled.

"Because I don't think it's wrong if you're in love with the person you're with," Merlin grumbled.

"What?"

"I'm in love with her!" Merlin snapped suddenly.

"What?" Arthur repeated, "don't be ridiculous," he laughed in disbelief.

"I love Feu." Merlin repeated, with more confidence this time and firmly, meeting Arthur straight in the eyes.

"Merlin you can't be in love with her, you barely know her!"

"I didn't expect you to understand." Merlin grumbled.

"But Merlin, she's a monster!" Arthur shouted these last few words before he thought twice about what he said. His shout drove birds from the trees and a sudden silence fell over the forest. But Merlin shook his head.

"She's not a monster." Said Merlin, he didn't sound upset, he didn't sound angry, he just sounded disappointed. "I knew you wouldn't understand." He then turned and disappeared through the trees.

Alone with his thoughts again, Arthur felt a rush of guilt and anger, he shouldn't have said that Feu was a monster. But then his thoughts turned again, _Merlin's young _he tried to convince himself, _he's not really in love…but what if he is? When we get to Camelot, when that beast is destroyed, if they really are in love, they'll probably get married. And then what? Feu hates me, I know it, and I'm sure Merlin knows it. She'll persuade him to leave his job. I'll lose my manservant. Not a very good manservant it has to be said, he's clumsy, he forgets things, he…didn't he hide under my bed and try to hug me when I almost had a troll for a stepmother! But still, a half-good manservant is hard to come by and he's saved my life on several occasions. He's not just a manservant, he's a friend as well, and I don't want to lose him, especially because of a girl!_

"Lost in thought?" Said a casual voice suddenly behind him.

"Maybe," Arthur turned and glared at Feu who was leaning against a tree, watching him.

"You've made Merlin angry, is it my turn now?" She asked.

"What did he tell you?" Arthur asked cautiously.

"Nothing, but I could see it in his eyes and I could hear every word you said. You seem to forget that I'm not as deaf as you think." Said Feu, she had been smiling for a few moments, she still found the whole situation quite amusing, but now her smile had gone and she was glaring at Arthur. "I'm not normal."

"You're not normal at all." Arthur grumbled.

"Excuse me?"

"Not many people go around like…" Arthur decided it wasn't safe to compare Feu to a whore, especially when her eyebrow began to rise. "Most people get married first, you may have been lonely but that doesn't mean that you can sleep around with anyone who turns up in the forest."

"You really think I'm like that?"

"Yes…well no." Arthur paused, slightly lost for words again, he found he couldn't look Feu in the eye when she was glaring at him in such a way. "Do you love him as well?" He asked eventually.

"Of course I do," said Feu, "but that's not the point, you blame me for what happened don't you?"

"I don't know who to blame! I blame both of you."

"Can't you just accept what happened and move on? I didn't do it because I'm some sort of dog, I love Merlin, and I'm sorry but there's nothing you can do about it."

"All right, fine." Arthur sighed. "Just please don't do anything foolish like that when we're still in this damn forest!"

"Whatever you say," Feu said with a slight grin, she couldn't quite find what the whole fuss was about.

"Well in that case we'd better be on our way." Said Arthur curtly.

"Yes, but just one more thing." And before Arthur could even ask what that was, Feu raised a hand and slapped him hard around the face.

"Ow! What was that for?" He asked, rubbing his cheek, which was once more beginning to burn, but not with embarrassment.

"I'm not a monster!" Feu said harshly, he eyes suddenly filling with tears. "I may look like one, I may act like one but I'm _not _a monster!"

"Sorry." Arthur grumbled.

"Right, now we have that sorted, we can be on our way." Said Feu calmly again, almost happily, and she left Arthur and went back to Merlin.

"I wonder how long she had been wanting to do that, maybe…no, it was my fault." Arthur mumbled to himself, still rubbing his cheek and pacing up and down again, his mind restless.

Arthur wasn't sure how long he spent pacing through the trees, Merlin and Feu hadn't turned up yet, they were probably waiting for him. As time passed, Arthur found his mind calming, he was just surprised that's all that such a thing that happened, if they were in love, maybe it wasn't so bad after all?

Arthur was about to go and find Merlin and Feu, and perhaps apologise to them for the things that he had said, when Arthur realised that he wasn't alone in the trees. There was something else, something chattering to itself, a noise he had heard a lot since he had been in this forest, and it was beginning to annoy him. Following the noise slowly and quietly, Arthur crept up to the creature. He put a hand round a tree, half-angry, half preying that the thing wouldn't bite him, he pulled out from behind it a little grey creature he had seen plenty of times before now, Dunkel.

"What are you doing here?" Arthur said angrily at it, grabbing the grey thing by the neck as Feu had, but Dunkel could hardly reply, he was doubled up with laughter.

"Hehe! Little Feu in love, head over heels in love!" It cackled to itself, while trying to squirm out of Arthur's grip.

"How long have you been there?" Arthur demanded.

"Long enough to find that you're still alive, what you said to the boy and Feu, and that Feu slapped you!" Dunkel giggled.

"All right, you've been too much trouble you little…thing." Arthur drew his sword, "so this time I'm going to kill you!"

"What? No! Don't kill me!" Dunkel squealed, he suddenly had stopped laughing.

"Then get out of my sight, and I don't want to see you ever again!" Arthur snapped, and he dropped Dunkel to the ground with a thump.

"Don't worry, you won't." Said Dunkel, half-scared and half sneakily. And then he hurried back into the forest.

"And don't go running back to that King of yours!" Arthur called after him, but Dunkel was already gone.

"What happened?" Merlin asked when Arthur came back to the clearing, shaking his head and wondering if he could go five minutes in this forest without finding trouble.

"Nothing," he said, looking at both Merlin and Feu, "ready to go?"

They nodded.

"Good, because I'm_ really _starting to get fed up with this forest!"

And without another word, they left the clearing and set off into the forest for the last time.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

Arthur walked as fast as he could through the forest. He had decided that the sooner they got out of this place, the better, and in fact today would be a very good day to leave the stinking forest behind in his memories. Arthur's mood wasn't helped by the fact that every-now-and-then he had to stop and wait for Feu and Merlin to catch up, who were wandering behind him, in no hurry what-so-ever, holding hands. Arthur watched them with a glare, constantly thinking to himself _I'm sure love doesn't slow down your walking speed, I wish they would stop whispering, for all I know they could be talking about me…no Merlin there is no need to put your hand on her waist! Ugh, I think I'm going to throw up!_

Fortunately Arthur was no longer as angry as he was that morning; that had been replaced by another emotion, loneliness. Feu and Merlin had each other and they were happy, Arthur had never seen Merlin look so content with life, and he was sure Feu never used to smile as much. But Arthur didn't have anyone, he never had. The few people he cared about were back in Camelot, being attacked by an oversized pigeon. They would probably all be gone by the time they returned and then he would have no one, and he didn't feel for them in the ways that Merlin and Feu felt for each other, Arthur wondered what that must be like.

After half an hour of these negative thoughts plaguing his head, something else came into Arthur's mind, and he stopped abruptly.

"Feu, I thought you were leading us out of this forest." He pointed out.

"I am," Feu replied, irritated by the way Arthur had stopped suddenly, as she almost walked straight into him.

"Well then why are you lagging behind me?" Arthur asked, "_I_ don't know where I'm going!"

"Perhaps you should slow down then so I can keep up." Feu suggested, a little rudely, Arthur should have been used to it by now, but he couldn't help retaliating.

"Perhaps you should stop being as slow as possible as if we have all the time in the world!" He snapped. "If you haven't noticed I'm in a hurry!"

"I'm not being slow." Feu snapped. "Unlike your brain." She muttered.

"What did you say?" Arthur asked darkly.

"Nothing," Feu said as sweetly as possible, but she was grinning to herself, probably thinking that Arthur was dumber than she realised.

"I think you did—" Arthur began.

"Can you two stop arguing," Merlin said suddenly, "this isn't going to get us anywhere. Arthur, what's wrong with you? Are you _still _angry about this morning?"

"No, I'm fed up with people treating me as if _I'm_ the servant!" Arthur snapped.

"It's because you've been in this forest too long," Feu explained, "it gets to everyone in the end, makes everyone think dark thoughts because that's what the forest was built out of; dark thoughts and dark magic. It'll get better once we get out of here."

"And how long will it take us to get out of this place?" Arthur demanded.

"As long as it takes for us to finish talking and find a way out." Feu told him.

"Feu, do you even know where we are?" Arthur asked, finally revealing the thought that had been bothering him for the past few hours.

"Well," Feu looked around, "not exactly."

"You mean we're lost." Said Arthur, his heart sinking. He had a feeling they had been walking around in circles.

"No."

"Then where are we?"

"This forest is a big place you know, I don't know every single leaf and tree." Feu pointed out. "But I know we've almost made our way out of the forest."

"Really? How can you tell?"

"Well, there are less trees, the forest isn't as dense, if it was we would have lost each other by now with the way you're steaming ahead. And I can smell fresh air, something you don't get very much here."

"I can't smell anything." Arthur grumbled.

"Yep, the forest has definitely got to you now." Feu almost sounded happy by the fact her point had just been proven.

"Why hasn't it got to you?" Arthur glowered at Feu, she seemed happy enough.

"Because I'm different." Feu replied, meeting his glare.

Fed up of getting little straight answers out of anyone, Arthur decided to continue marching off ahead again, grumbling something about women and leaving Merlin and Feu alone again.

"I can't remember the last time I didn't live my life under the cover of trees, in the darkness of the forest." Feu commented sadly, breaking the peaceful silence between her and Merlin, looking up at the canopy above her.

"Well that'll all change soon, you can stay with me." Said Merlin, his voice full of hope, it seemed that he hadn't noticed the sadness in Feu's voice.

"Has the outside world changed much?" Feu wondered aloud.

"To be honest I don't really know, it hasn't for me really, but I haven't been living in this place for years." Merlin pointed out.

"No I didn't mean that, I meant have people changed to way they act around and treat people like us? Humans have always looked down at me and hated me, and although there was a period of time when I enjoyed thieves or bandits running in fear when they see my fangs, I don't want that any more." Feu admitted

"Well I'm sure people will respect you for who you are, and King Uther promised that you'll be allowed to stay in Camelot."

"Do you really think he'll keep his promise?"

"He should do, he's the King, and Arthur promised as well. I know Arthur, he keeps his promises."

"What does King Uther usually do with people who have magical talents?" The tone in Feu's voice told Merlin she probably already knew the answer but wanted to hear it from him to confirm her doubts and fears.

"Well, ah." Merlin looked guiltily at Feu; "it doesn't always end well."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He…I won't let anything happen to you." Merlin reassured her before he continued.

"Merlin, what does he do with people who are caught using magic?" Feu asked sternly this time.

"He…he has them executed." Merlin said finally. "But he won't do that to you," he added quickly. "Uther made a promise, and I'll look after you."

"I just don't want to be remembered as some sort of monster that nobody really wants and that went to Camelot for nothing." Feu explained, "I'm going to help people, to make use of my life, to make a difference, not to be a nuisance."

"You're not a nuisance." Merlin said firmly, stopping and turning to face Feu so he could talk to her properly, "not to me. I'll always remember who you are; to me you're the most important person in the world, you may be different, but I wouldn't change anything about you."

"If someone told you," Feu began, trying to think of how to say what she was about to say, "that they were going to…they weren't going to be alive for much longer, what would you say?"

"Who said that?"

"No one, it doesn't matter. But if someone did, what would you say?"

"Well no one can be certain of everything, anything can happen. It doesn't necessarily mean that you were going to die. I wouldn't give up if someone said that; I would keep on fighting."

"Yes I suppose so," said Feu slowly.

"Why? Did someone tell you you were going to die?" Merlin asked suddenly.

"It doesn't matter if they did. But an Opinicus is pretty big and strong, I've never fought one before, I haven't got much hope of surviving." Feu admitted, she didn't like lying to Merlin, but she was going to try her best to keep him away from the truth.

"Then why did you come with us?" Merlin knew that Feu had probably never fought an Opinicus, but he had never asked, he just assumed that she would be able to defeat it.

"Because it was the right thing to do." Feu admitted.

"I believe that you can stop this beast, I have nothing to doubt you. And if anything happens, I won't let you die, that's a promise." Merlin told her.

Feu smiled at Merlin as he brushed away her tears that she didn't even realise were there. She wished she could believe him. Perhaps she would defeat the creature; perhaps everything will end well. But the Seer was rarely wrong, and now her time was coming closer, Feu was beginning to feel scared.

_Sorry this is a bit of a short chapter, and not much happens in it. It's just kind of a look at the character's emotions, and a reminder of what was said to Feu in the first chapter. But they're almost out of the forest, so perhaps the next chapter will be a little more eventful…? (:_


	28. Chapter 28

_Last chapter was a little boring, and someone pointed out to me that there was a lot of dialogue and not enough description. That's a good point, I like description, but sometimes I don't do enough of it. This chapter was tricky to right, but hopefully there'll be a little more description and a bit of action in this chapter, but I'm afraid still a lot of dialogue. Reviews much appreciated (:_ Chapter 28

Arthur looked around him, and swore under his breath. Storming off probably wasn't one of his best ideas, because now Feu and Merlin had been swallowed up by the trees and were nowhere to be seen, and he had no idea where they could be, or where even he was. What Arthur could see was that the trees weren't so tightly packed in, and he felt the warmth of the sun on the back of his neck, it seems that they were almost out the forest, but that didn't change anything, he was still lost.

Continuing through the forest, grumbled under his breath how Merlin and Feu probably haven't even realised he had disappeared yet and continued making his way through the trees. At first he considered turning around and heading back, if he managed to retrace his steps, he might be able to find Feu and Merlin again. But for some reason he didn't do that, instead he simply continued onwards through the forest. He was nearly out the forest, what could possibly happen to him when he was so close to the outside world? And the forest no longer made him feel so afraid.

"Oh, you're alive," a rather nasty sounding voice grumbled behind Arthur.

Arthur whipped around, ready to retaliate to whatever, or whoever, had said that, but there was nothing but trees around him.

The voice giggled, its voice bounced off the nearby trees. "Look up! Stupid human."

Arthur did look up, and saw above him crouching on the branch of a tree a large, ragged looking bird. It was a fair distance away but he could see the huge talons and the positively ugly human head sitting upon its feathered shoulders. There was no need to guess what creature this might be. It was another Harpy.

"How's the hand?" No, not another Harpy, the same one that Arthur had already encountered and had tried to attack him.

"I doubt you would really care whatever answer I gave you," Arthur told it, glaring up at the Harpy.

The Harpy shrugged, or looked like it had shrugged. "Good point, perhaps you're not as dumb as I thought. But on the other hand, you're wandering alone in the forest, which is a very foolish thing to do." It told him almost happily. If Arthur was a bit closer, he had a feeling he would probably see it smiling.

"I'm not wandering about on my own," Arthur argued, "there are others with me."

"But at the moment you appear to be alone." The Harpy sounded very pleased about this. There was a flutter of wings, and another Harpy came to join the first on a branch, almost as big as the first. The wing span was enormous, it was nothing but a shape of black feathers, an ugly head and huge talons. Soon after the second Harpy joined, another flew to the branch.

"I'm assuming you're not here to give me company," Arthur told the Harpy, he had a bad feeling about the new visitors.

The Harpy laughed again, but then it paused, as if it was listening for something. "On the other hand, I may be wrong."

Just then, Merlin and Feu appeared out of the wall of trees, smiling happily. You could hear their voices and Feu's laughter before you saw them.

"Come along Arthur, we can't just stand around and do nothing, we have a Kingdom to rescue!" Feu said jokily, as Arthur had just been moaning to her about walking so slowly.

"Oh good Feu's here too!" The Harpy exclaimed joyfully, as another large Harpy joined its fellows on a nearby tree. "I sincerely hoped I would get the chance to see you before you left."

Feu's good mood immediately disappeared when she looked up and saw the Harpy, she groaned with annoyance. They had almost got out of the forest without anything going wrong that day, but of course the forest had to give them a goodbye gift, and when it came to Harpies, they were probably the most irritating and potentially dangerous animals the forest could have given them.

"What do you want?" Feu demanded.

"I've got a bone to pick with you, before I pick yours," the Harpy explained. There were murmurs of amusement from the other Harpies.

"I'm not interested," Feu told the Harpy harshly. She turned away from the birds, gesturing for Merlin and Arthur to continue to move through the forests, but the Harpy wasn't finished with them.

"I wouldn't run away just yet, if I were you Feu." The Harpy warned.

Feu should have never listened to the Harpy, but they were one of those creatures that captured your attention with commanding voices and morbid words and held your mind with their taunts. Feu was used to just ignoring the birds, but she remained still and glared up at the Harpy.

"We're almost out of the forest, can't you just leave us alone!" She snapped angrily.

"No, because we know why you're going," the Harpy told her. Feu was confused, so she stood and waited for the Harpy to continue. "Stories spread quickly when you're a creature of the air, and it seems so obvious now. Why else would they be here," it gestured a wing to Merlin and Arthur. "No one would want to even talk to you unless they were truly desperate." The Harpy taunted Feu. More Harpies were filling the trees all around as the creature spoke, there were now at least ten of them, and more were flying in.

"That is no concern of yours," Feu snapped at the Harpy.

"Oh yes I think it is because you see, I'm a bird and the Opinicus is a bird, so we're not very happy about you trying to kill it." The Harpy explained, in a strangely polite manner, which only meant the worst was to come. "Which means, dear Feu, that we cannot let you or your friends leave this forest alive."

The number of Harpies filling the trees had passed the number twenty. Feu's sharp eyes flicked to each branch, taking it each dark shadow of the Harpies in turn. She could feel the blood in her veins turn hot, soon it would begin to boil and then her eyes would change colour. If that happened, they were definitely in for a fight. The worrying thing was, this was what the birds probably wanted.

"Merlin, Arthur," Feu said slowly and in a low voice, not taking her eyes off the Harpy that had done much of the talking. "If you turn to your right and keep on walking, you'll be able to find your way out of the forest."

"We're not leaving you behind," Arthur told Feu harshly, Merlin looked very worried but he agreed with what Arthur said. "We're not going to run like cowards."

"Then you'll be a fool to stay," Feu hissed at them.

One Harpy seemed to have given up waiting. It stretched its wings and took off from its branch, circling slowly, drifting as if it was only being carried by the wind, slowly getting closer to the prey standing on the ground.

"The Harpies cannot leave the forest, so I suggest that you run!" Feu shouted this last word as the Harpy suddenly swooped down towards her, but she had been ready for it. A clawed hand swept out, catching the Harpy in the chest, it screamed and fell to the ground in a see of black, filthy feathers.

This created cries of anger and annoyance from the other Harpies, and more took off from their branches. The feral form of Feu hissed up at them, her bright green eyes almost glowing with fury.

The cries of the Harpies seemed to have sent a clear message down to Merlin and Arthur. Their screams were enough the make the blood turn to ice with fear, leave you frozen to the spot or, in Merlin and Arthur's case, turn and run through the trees.

Some Harpies tried to fly after them, but Feu leapt up and knocked the birds out of the air before they had a chance to hurt her friends. The smell of rotting bodies surrounded the smell of the Harpies, as more swooped down, filling Feu's vision. She desperately tried to fight her way through the sea of black, stinking feathers. Every-now-and-then she felt claws tear at her clothes, rip at her skin and pull her hair. She kept her eyes tight shut so the Harpies couldn't tear them out. The smell of blood filled her nostrils, a mixture of the Harpies' and her own.

Feu knew she wouldn't be able to fight them all, so she began to search instead, searching blindly for the Harpy that smelt more like dead bodies than any of the others.

Feu felt her hand clasp the wing of a Harpy, and the cries and threats the Harpy gave her told her she had the right one. Still holding onto the wing, and ignoring the large beak that kept on trying to bite away at her flesh, Feu fled from the sea of Harpies. She headed to the trees that were closely packed in together, so the Harpies couldn't fly in after her.

As soon as Feu had left the battle-scene, the forest immediately fell quiet once more, but the Harpy she held tightly with both hands was still squawking loudly.

"What do you want with me!" Feu demanded, shouting over the cries of the Harpy, which immediately seem to shut up when she began to yell. It gave a horrible smile.

"All these years I've had to put up with you Feu, living on my land, stealing my food. When I heard about the Opinicus, I knew that this would not be an opportunity to miss."

"But if you know about the Opinicus," Feu said slowly, "then you know about the rest of the story as well."

The Harpy raised a fifthly eyebrow.

"You already know how the story ends." Feu explained, but she knew the Harpy understood what she said.

The Harpy gave another, horrible smile. "Oh that ending, yes that story might have reached my ears as well. Sacrificing yourself for the good of other people, ugh, how human!"

Feu's feral form had disappeared, but she had to fight the anger she felt rushing through her when the Harpy spoke. "My time is already coming to an end, and who would dare change the tale of such a powerful Seer?"

The statement made the smile fall from the Harpy's face. It glowered, "I know what you're suggesting Feu, but I want to hear it from you anyway."

"Let me live, so I can die another day." Feu said sternly, she made sure it didn't sound like she was begging.

"Oh, but we have a problem with that Feu," the Harpy's voice was becoming worryingly nice and polite again.

"What?" Feu asked heavily.

"I'm having far too much fun to stop!" The Harpy laughed loudly, flapping its wings excitedly, but there was no escaping Feu's grip, which she immediately used to her own advantage.

"True," Feu nodded calmly; she let out a large, fake sigh. "Which just means that I'll have to rip out your throat right now."

The Harpy stopped laughing abruptly, it would have continued taunting Feu, but it saw a glint of green in her eye, and didn't want to take the risk. Instead the Harpy fell limp and just glared at the Doe.

"All right then Feu, you've made your point." It told her. "I just wish I could be there you day you die."

"Sorry," Feu smiled nastily at the Harpy as she let go of its wing. The Harpy had to flap its wings frantically to stop itself from crashing to the ground. When it retained some balance and height, it turned its attention back to Feu.

"Sometimes Feu, you can be so harsh and cruel, I consider liking you." It told her.

Feu shrugged, "I'm afraid I'm not that bad."

"A pity," the Harpy looked disappointed for a few moments, but then it smiled again. "You know, all this time you've been talking to me, you've left your little friends to be chased through the forest by about fifteen, rather angry Harpies."

Feu went pale.

The Harpy chuckled. "Oh I'm sorry, did I forget to mention that to you? Never mind, I suppose there are worse deaths than being torn about by a group of birds, or isn't there? I'm not sure."

Feu was no longer listening; she had already disappeared through the trees.


	29. Chapter 29

_My friend Gina (profile name on fanfic Gina Frodo H) did a great drawing of Feu when Merlin and Arthur encounter her in the forest, there's a link to it on my profile, so feel free to check it out (: _

_This is a bit of a short chapter, but hopefully the ending will make up for it…please review (:_

Chapter 29

At first, the sounds of the Harpies died away as Merlin and Arthur fled through the forest, heading towards the trees that were less packed in together. The end of the forest had to be somewhere close, but the lines of tress never seemed to end. Fresh air streamed in through the branches now as well as sunlight.

After a while it seemed that the Harpies weren't giving chase, but neither of them wanted to take the risk, so they kept on running. Arthur eventually ground to a halt, causing Merlin to almost run into him.

"Can you hear anything?" Arthur asked between desperate gasps for breath. He gazed back through the trees where they had just run from, but there was nothing.

"No, do you think we should go back?" Merlin wondered, he didn't like the terrible silence. The adrenaline had stopped pumping through his veins and panic was beginning to take its place instead. What if it was so quiet because something had happened to Feu?

Just as Merlin thought this, there was a squawk. It was such a peculiar noise resounding through the silence that Merlin and Arthur did nothing but look at each other with equalled puzzlement. Then there was another, louder squawk, and then the flutter of huge, black wings as a Harpy swooped towards them, followed by another, then another.

"Run!" Arthur yelled.

Merlin hadn't felt such fear in a long time as he found himself fleeing from about ten, furious sounding Harpies. Their screams echoing through his skull as the sound of his panicked heart beat pounded in his ears. As Merlin ran he waited to feel the huge talons seize his back, ripping him apart or carrying him away back to the Dark Forest, where he would probably never see sunlight again. Merlin knew that if he used magic he might be able to knock the Harpies out of the air, but then he would have to explain to Arthur how his eyes could also change colour.

Low hanging branches whipped at Merlin's face, threatening to scratch out his eye, Merlin was forced to shut his eyes tightly or risk getting permanently blinded. Unable to see where he was going Merlin tripped over a tree root and found himself falling through the air. His fall was thankfully broken by the soft forest earth, but Merlin was sure that now this would be the end…

"Merlin! Are you all right?" Merlin heard Arthur say as the young Prince pulled him to his feet. Merlin could hear Harpies were laughing at him as they swooped closer towards Merlin and Arthur and horribly fast speeds.

"I'm fine," Merlin gasped, catching the breath that had been knocked out of his lungs, his ears burning at the sound of the Harpy's terrible laughter.

"Come one then!" Arthur shouted hurriedly as the Harpies grew closer. He turned and began to run through the trees, but Merlin stayed behind, just for a few moments.

If the Harpies realised that Merlin was magic, they would have probably been less surprised when a ball of fire burst from Merlin's outstretched hand, scorching their feathers and burning their faces. Screaming with shock and pain, the Harpies fell back, giving Merlin his chance to escape.

Arthur didn't have time to look back to make sure that Merlin was still following him, he just kept on running as fast as he could, his mind focused on the distance he was creating between himself and the Harpies. Therefore Arthur was quite taken by surprise when suddenly he found himself bursting through the trees and into bright sunlight. Arthur stumbled to a stop, gazing out at the field he was suddenly standing in, the forest behind him, grass under his feet and birds in the sky that, thankfully, didn't have human heads. Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, and turned just to see Merlin also stumbling out of the forest, blinking at the bright light of the sun.

"We made it," Merlin managed to say, and Arthur couldn't help but smile. The warmth of the sun, the cooling breeze and freedom from the Dark Forest had certainly lifted his spirits.

"And you still point out the obvious Merlin." Arthur told him.

Silence fell then, as both of them realised that Feu still wasn't with them. It was only a few more moments however before they heard the rustling of trees, and Feu burst out from the undergrowth to join them.

"Feu!" Merlin ran up to her and caught her in an embrace that was a little too tight after Feu had just been fighting against Harpies. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Feu tried to assure him; though she wasn't sure what state she must be in. Her clothes torn by the Harpies and there was a cut on her cheek, blood run slowly down her face. She was probably covered in scratches, but they would quickly heel, for now Feu just felt glad that the Harpies had spared her.

For a few moments, all the three did was turn back at stare at the dark blanket of trees they had been fighting through for what seemed like an age. They stretched out over the horizon, only to be broken by the formidable mountains in the far distance, the same ones Merlin and Arthur had to fight over on that terrible stormy night. The long silence was eventually broken by Feu, who was feeling uncomfortable in the quiet and didn't like the view they were looking at.

"Well I was right," she said, gazing around at the wide open spaces and at the bright blue sky, it had been a very long time since she had seen a world beyond the forest. "I told you we would be out of the forest soon, and over those hills," she pointed off in the distance, away from the forest and the mountains, "should be your precious Camelot. It will only take a day or two, and it will be a lot safer than trying to get over those mountains."

"Did I ever thank you Feu?" Arthur asked suddenly, ignoring her sarcastic comments of 'precious Camelot'.

"Thank me for what?"

"For getting us out of that God-forsaken place," he explained, "for helping us get back to Camelot."

"It's what you asked me to do," Feu grumbled with a shrug, it seemed that her spirits hadn't lifted now that they were out of the forest.

"Do you think you can show us the rest of the way back?" Merlin asked, trying to change the subject.

"I can take you to the edge of King Udin's land, but after that I won't know." Feu told him. "You should know your way from there."

"Don't worry, we should be able to get to Camelot from there," Arthur told Feu.

Feu still didn't seem very happy about something; she just nodded and began to make her way across the field, which turned out to be on top of a hill, which quickly sloped downwards. Arthur and Merlin almost had to run to catch up with her.

"Feu, what's the matter?" Arthur asked.

"Our trouble's not over yet," Feu told him darkly, "something's wrong, I can feel it."

"Feu, we're out of the dark forest and in the middle of a field, what could possibly hurt us?" Arthur pointed out, but he spoke a little too soon, as suddenly Feu froze. "What is it?" He demanded. Was Feu really that sensitive that saying something like that could upset her?

"What's wrong?" Merlin asked, who had been lagging behind Feu and Arthur and had just managed to catch up with them.

But Feu couldn't reply, and as Arthur and Merlin walked a little closer to her, they realised why, because only a fool would try to run when they had a sword pointing at their neck.

King Udin looked behind Feu at Merlin and Arthur, his sword still pointing at her neck, and gave a horrible grin.


	30. Chapter 30

_Yaaay Arthur, Feu and Merlin are FINALLY out of that forest! But there's still more trouble to come…not the greatest chapter in the world coming up, but I hope you enjoy anyway (: reviews much appreciated (:_

Chapter 30

"Fe—" Merlin began, the colour draining from his face as he gazed at the woman he loved being a few inches away from her death, for a moment he thought his heart had stopped beating.

"Shut up Merlin," Feu said in a strangled voice, she felt the point of the sword pressing against her windpipe. She tried desperately to fight the anger that surged inside her, if she turned angry, then this man would definitely kill her.

King Udin's eyes passed slowly between one horrified expression to the next, and gave a deep horrible laugh. "I knew I would find you here." He told them, taking the sword away from Feu's throat after a few moments and pointed it at Arthur and Merlin.

Arthur, Feu and Merlin had never seen this man before. His clothes may have once been full of colour, rich and expensive, but now they were torn, faded and looked worthless. The man's hair was a dirty grey colour and complete mess, his dark eyes were stern and at the same time full of madness. The man would have been unrecognisable to those who even knew him. He had nothing but his sword and behind him stood a great black horse that had lost its saddle and carried no other supplies. If it wasn't for the crown placed absurdly on his head, and the golden rings on his fingers, they wouldn't have known it was King Udin.

"They said that you were dead, that I would never be troubled by your presence again," the King continued, as if Arthur, Feu and Merlin knew what he was talking about. "But I can tell when people lie to me, and when that pathetic excuse for a creature didn't come running back along with the soldiers, I knew that there was something wrong, that you were still alive. I came across the little beast on my journey here, and it told me everything."

"Dunkel," Feu growled suddenly under her breath when she realised what the King was talking about. "I'll kill that little—"

"No need," said Arthur darkly. He pointed down at the King's belt, which had swinging from it the decapitated, blood-stained head of a rather shocked looking Dunkel. Feu gasped with horror.

"His services were not needed any more." The King explained, his eyes had been glancing from one person to the other, but were now settled on Arthur. "I considered not to waste my time any more, to just wait until you went back to your own Kingdom or got yourself killed, and then rage War on Camelot. But thanks to you I had lost many good soldiers and even my closest advisers were telling me that I should give in. But I never give in, the son of Uther daring to step foot on my land, you shall pay the price for doing such a foolish thing."

"You don't understand," Arthur began. His sword was right by his side, but he didn't want to use it. It would only make matters worse; they weren't here to fight a mad King. Perhaps he would be able to talk some sense into him, and he didn't want to talk to someone who was obviously mad.

"No, I'm afraid you're the one who doesn't understand." Udin spat back at him. "You don't know how many years I have sat on that throne, imprisoned by my own thoughts. I knew one day you would come and get me, it was hell waiting for it to happen, living in the shadow of your Kingdom, wanting for it to swallow me up. I knew I had to act first, little did I know you would be playing right into my hands."

"You're making a mistake. You don't know what you're doing, just think about it for a moment—" Arthur began.

"I know perfectly well what I'm doing!" King Udin interrupted him, "and I've spent much of my time thinking. As soon as I sent soldiers after you, I thought that at last you would no longer trouble my restless mind, but you're harder to kill than I expected. When my best soldiers failed and began to lie to me. I knew I had to do the dirty work myself."

"But if you kill us you won't solve anything, you'll start a War. Let us leave your land, and we shall not return."

"I'm afraid I cannot accept that offer. This is too good an opportunity to miss." Udin had a blood lust now; Arthur could see it in his eyes. This was a man who was not going to give in,

"Just think of the consequences…"

"Damn the consequences! Perhaps one day you'll understand, but that day will never come now." Udin looked down at Arthur's sword. "Take up your sword," he nodded towards it.

"I don't want to fight you." Arthur tried to explain.

"All right then, if that is truly what you want then you'll die a coward." Udin turned his attention to Merlin, "I think I'll let you watch your friends die first," he said, still talking to Arthur, but his eyes on Merlin, "and then it will be your turn."

These words sent a shiver of fear down Merlin's spine as the sword was pointed directly at him. For a moment he thought he should use magic, Arthur wasn't foolish enough to raise swords with a mad man. If this was the only way they could escape alive, then he would have to do it and, like King Udin, damn the consequences. But Arthur was certainly not prepared to let his friends die, so he raised his sword. This seemed to please King Udin greatly, as he grinned madly.

"This is your last warning." Said Arthur as calmly as possib1e. He knew that if he killed King Udin he would create War between the two Kingdoms, something he did not want. But he certainly didn't want to die a coward, and if someone had to die, it would have to be either him or Udin, not anyone else. "I do not want to fight you, I do not want anyone to die, so just let us go." He told King Udin as calmly as clearly as possible.

But King Udin shook his head and raised his sword towards Arthur again. But before he could strike, Feu stepped between him and Arthur, her face stern.

"Leave him alone." She said threateningly between gritted teeth, and her eyes flashed green. She had been waiting and watching silently for as long as possible, raising the sword to anyone but herself was across the line. She couldn't let anyone get hurt.

"And what are you going to do about it?" The King laughed; he was clearly unaware of the dangers Feu possessed.

"He has done nothing to you, just leave him alone." Feu repeated.

"And what are you going to do to stop me?" Udin asked, still laughing. "Do you really think you can kill me?"

Feu gave the King a horrible, dark smile, revealing her long fangs. Her eyes transformed from the calming colour blue to a fiery green.

"Feu no!" Said Arthur and Merlin almost at the same time when they caught sight of Feu's fangs.

King Udin was not taken aback by the sight of her, in fact he laughed even harder and swung his sword at Feu's throat. Feu jumped out the way just in time, but then leapt straight back between Udin and Arthur and Merlin, hissing like a snake.

But before Feu could make her own attack Arthur pushed her roughly out the way, crying out as he did so and raising his sword. There was a large cracking sound as Arthur hit King Udin over the head with the hilt of his sword. The King immediately crumpled to the ground.

Arthur froze, his mouth open and his eyes wide with shock, staring down at the King, at what he had done, as he had only just realised what was happening. Feu looked down at the King and then up at Arthur, who had probably just saved her life.

Merlin was the first to gather some senses. If the King came round at any moment, or if someone came along and saw what they had done, there would be even more trouble.

"Run!" He said hastily.

The three of them hardly hesitated as they turned and ran through the grass, away from the motionless body of the mad King, not even daring to look back.

Arthur, Feu and Merlin were running so fast everything was a blur, they almost didn't see King Udin's great black horse as they passed. Feu suddenly stopped at the horse, which was still standing there watching with almost amusement at what had just happened, and seized it by the reins.

"Feu, what are you doing?" Arthur demanded, annoyed.

"I'm not letting this one run off as well, if you want to get back to Camelot quickly then get on." Feu shouted, jumping onto the horse.

Merlin nodded in agreement and jumped onto the horses back as well behind Feu.

"We can't all ride on one horse—" Arthur began.

"Fine, then walk back!" Feu snapped at him.

Arthur glared at her, but said nothing as he climbed on the horse behind Feu and Merlin.

"Right," said Feu, clutching the reins and staring down at the horse. "Now how do you make it go forward?"

"Oh for goodness sake!" Snapped Arthur, and he got off the back of the horse, "let me do it." And he climbed on the horse again in front of Feu (disgruntled that she had to pass him the reigns) and within a few moments they were galloping away from the Dark Forest and over the hills towards Camelot.


	31. Chapter 31

_I have to admit I quite like the character Feu, I might use her 'species' in a book if I ever become an author. You'll read the back in a book shop and go "yep, that's Naisa!" and then they'll all look at you funny because they'll have no idea what you're talking about…hehe (: Hopefully if I ever get something published it won't be as boring as the chapter coming up, but I'd best stop waffling and let you read it. Please review (:_

Chapter 31

After riding for over an hour cramped together on the same horse with someone snapping every five minutes because they were being elbowed in the ribs, the horse finally clambered up the last steep hill and stopped.

A great view stood out before Arthur, Feu and Merlin. Rivers twisting like great blue snakes and wide lakes reflecting the great tall trees all around. Flocks of birds swept from tree to tree as the warm sun shone down upon them. What was the most important and marvellous image of this view in their opinion, was that they could see civilisation before them. Clusters of small houses grouped together, villages, cows grazing upon the fields, and even better, a great castle standing above it all.

"Is that Camelot?" Feu asked.

"Yes," said Merlin happily. "I can't believe it, we're almost there!"

"And the castle's still standing." Arthur muttered, but he wasn't looking at the castle, he seemed to be looking beyond it, into the distance, and his face was very pale.

"What's the matter? I thought you would be happy to see Camelot?" Said Feu.

"Did anyone else hear that crack?" Arthur asked.

"What crack? What are you talking about?"

"When I hit King Udin over the head, there was a crack. I think I cracked his skull," Arthur swallowed nervously, looking around at Merlin and Feu. "I think I killed him."

"You couldn't help it," Feu assured him, "it was in self defence, he would have killed _you _otherwise."

"But you don't understand, if I did kill him, then that means War for Camelot."

"Not if they didn't know it was you. You're not a failure Arthur." Said Feu, seeing the look on Arthur's face. "You did what you had to do, and you got us back here safely. Surely that's the most important thing for now?"

Arthur and Merlin both looked round at Feu, with a look of surprise on their faces. Feu, being nice to Arthur? No one ever thought this day would actually come. Feu seemed to know what they were thinking.

"Yes being harsh is in my nature, but I can still be nice to people sometimes," she snapped at them. "And I suppose I'm going to have to do that more often, seeming as I'm about to meet a hundred more strangers."

"You'll be fine," Merlin told her.

"Well standing on this hill isn't going to help us find out," she grumbled, and then her mood suddenly changed: "come on, I have a Kingdom to save!"

And with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm from Feu, they were galloping away again. By the next morning, they had reached Camelot.

When leaving Camelot, Merlin had seen people standing out in the streets, waving him and Arthur goodbye, hope on their faces. Now they were back there was no one to welcome them, the Kingdom was deserted of people, and instead what met them were destroyed houses and livelihoods. Everyone had fled this place, there was no hope left for them, if they tried to stay, the creature would devour them.

A single bird had almost destroyed a whole Kingdom, it was more than tragic, it was humiliating.

When Merlin first set his eyes upon this sight he thought they had come too late, that the Kingdom _had _been completely destroyed. But as they past the houses Merlin thought he caught glances of people peering out at then, fear and disbelief in their eyes, before disappearing into the darkness of their homes again.

The Castle still stood great and tall, just like the way it had been left. The only difference was that one of the towers looked a little crumpled and at the entrance there was a row of bodies covered with white sheets. A few guards were standing around outside the Castle, looking hesitant and afraid. One of them saw Arthur, Merlin and Feu approaching, and with a shout he alerted the other guards before running off into the Castle. The guards seemed shocked to see that the Prince had returned, and hurriedly ran to the horse to help him down, ignoring Feu and Merlin, but Arthur waved them away, trying to assure them that he did not need their aid.

It was less than a minute before the King came hurrying out of the Castle, followed by a few more guards, towards his son. Merlin stood back a little way as they embraced, and Feu half hid nervously behind him.

"We had just started to give up hope!" Uther explained, his stern face, darkened by worry and fear, broke into a brave smile, "but I knew you wouldn't let me down."

"There were a few…difficulties on the way." Arthur replied, but decided it was best not to go into the details.

"What happened to you?" Uther asked, looking Arthur up and down. Arthur didn't realise it, but he looked dreadful. His clothes were torn; he was covered in scratches and scars and he was covered in mud from the nights he had been lying on the forest floor. "Did you find her?" Uther added in a whisper.

"She's just over there," said Arthur, glancing back to see a pair of blue eyes watching him suspiciously as they stood behind Merlin, clutching his hand, which luckily Uther didn't notice.

"Gaius can see to her for now, you must and tell me everything that happened." Said Uther, leading his son into the Castle.

"Was that the King?" Feu asked Merlin in a whisper after Uther and Arthur had disappeared into the Castle without a backward glance.

"Yes," said Merlin, but bearly had time to say any more as he heard someone shout his name, he looked up to see Gwen coming towards them. A great deal of people had quickly gathered around the outside of the Castle, passing round the rumour that Arthur had returned to Camelot.

"I knew you would come back!" Gwen said joyfully rushing over to them and giving Merlin a warm hug. She had spent much of her time while Merlin had been away helping casualties, she looked just as tired as he felt, but pleased to see him.

"Feu this is Gwen, a good friend of mine." Said Merlin, stepping back so Gwen could see Feu fully.

"Nice to meet you." Smiled Gwen, holding out a hand. It was a few seconds before Feu reached out hers and shook it.

"It's nice to meet someone else who smells nice." Feu replied, smiling warmly back. Her confidence beginning to gain again, Gwen smelt like daisies, which she liked, and Gwen didn't seem afraid by the fact that she was magic.

"I'm sorry?" Said Gwen, her smile remaining but faltered a little. She wasn't used to being told how she smelt.

"She means it's nice to see another friendly face." Merlin put in helpfully. "Have you seen Gaius anywhere?" He added.

Just as Merlin said this, he saw Gaius coming out of the Castle and gazing around the Courtyard, searching for them. He said a quick farewell to Gwen before rushing to meet Gaius, Feu following.

"I was almost starting to get worried about you." Said Gaius, a broad grin over his face as Merlin hurried towards him.

"I told you you would miss me." Merlin grinned back.

"Well I wouldn't go that far to say that." Gaius joked.

"Gaius I believe you know who this is." Said Merlin, stepping back to let Feu approach.

"Well, well, well." Gaius raised his eyebrow and suddenly grew stern, "some people never change do they Feu?"

"You certainly haven't," Feu replied harshly, but then she smiled. "It's good to see you again Gaius." Gaius laughed and hugged her warmly.

"You two look absolutely exhausted," said Gaius. "Come back to my Chambers, you can have something to eat and have a rest."

"How are the Druids?" Feu asked as Gaius lead them to his Chambers.

"I haven't seen them for a long time, but last thing I heard was that they were safe. I think they miss you as much as you miss them."

"I doubt that," Feu grumbled.

"Did it take you long to find her?" Gaius asked Merlin.

"No," Feu smirked, "I found them. Had to save your precious Prince from being eaten by a tree."

"Sssh, Feu!" Hissed Merlin, looking nervously at the people around them, "don't say that so loudly."

"Well the important thing is you all got back here safely," said Gaius, trying not to laugh at the thought that one of the greatest soldiers in Camelot was almost eaten by a plant.

They reached Gaius' Chambers and Merlin felt relieved to be back. This was one of the few places where he actually felt safe and unafraid to use magic. Everything still looked the same, the same piles of books, the same bottles filled with strange coloured potions, the same desk that Gaius once accidentally set on fire and the same mess. Feu was fascinated by what she saw around her, all these new interesting sights and smells. She forgot about food and resting, she immediately set off examining all the bottles and books on the shelves, even though she couldn't read. Gaius and Merlin sat around the table, discussing things that had occurred in Camelot over the past few days, while Merlin helped himself to some bread that was on the table. He suddenly realised how hungry he was, and couldn't remember the last time he had eaten anything properly.

"Don't touch anything Feu," Gaius said in a warning voice as Feu picked up and began shaking a long-necked bottle filled with some blue liquid.

"Sorry," she said, putting the bottle back on the shelf and sitting down next to Merlin. "Do you remember this Gaius?" She asked, pulling a small glass bottle out of her pocked and handing it to him.

"Well my memory isn't what it used to be, but it looks like the medicine I gave to you when you were with the Druids."

"That's right," Feu nodded happily. "Good for healing wounds, I had to use it on Arthur after he got himself attacked by a Harpy."

"It wasn't entirely his fault." Merlin put in.

"It wasn't entirely the Harpy's fault either." Feu told him curtly.

"You didn't get on well with Arthur did you?" Gaius said, raising his eyebrow again, he had a feeling they wouldn't.

"That's one way of putting it," Merlin said with a sigh. "Arthur's a good person Feu, you just have to get to know him a little."

"I suppose so," muttered Feu, looking down at her hands. "I probably shouldn't have slapped him."

"You did what!" Said Merlin and Gaius at the same time.

"Did he not tell you that?" Feu asked, gazing at their shocked faces, "oh, I'm guessing he didn't, he did deserve it though."

"Feu he's the son of a King!" Merlin pointed out.

"What's King Uther like?" Feu asked, changing the subject quickly before she got into any more trouble.

"He's a good King," Merlin shrugged.

"He's done good things for Camelot," Gaius added.

"I think that you're avoiding the answer I want," Feu said, looking at them darkly.

"Well, he has made some mistakes, but everyone does. Some people say he's cruel, but it's a matter of opinion." Said Merlin.

"You're afraid of him aren't you?"

"No." The fact that Merlin and Gaius said this at almost the exactly the same time told Feu they were lying again.

"You're afraid that if he ever finds out about your magic he'll kill you?" Feu continued.

"You told her about your magic Merlin?" Said Gaius, he didn't sound pleased.

"He didn't need to, I could smell his magic a mile off. But if you're afraid that Uther might punish you if he finds out, he _knows _that I'm a magical creature, how do you think I feel?"

"But Arthur has already said that King Uther won't hurt you, and I promised that I would look after you." Merlin pointed out.

"Yes, I suppose you're right." Said Feu, smiling up at him.

There were a few moments silence, where Gaius watched suspiciously, his eyes flicking from Feu to Merlin and back to Feu. There was something reflecting in their eyes as they looked at each other that he didn't like.

"Can I have a word with you outside Merlin?" He said eventually, standing up and leading Merlin out the door. "Help yourself to have something to eat, I won't be a moment." He told Feu, "But don't drink any medicines!" He added quickly before he closed the door.

"What's the matter?" Merlin asked Gaius when they had stepped out of the chambers and into the air that was beginning to turn cold.

"What was that between you and Feu?" Gaius asked harshly, his voice immediately lowering just in case Feu was trying to listen.

"What was what?"

"The way you looked at each other, the way she was always standing so close to you outside. Is there anything going on between you two?"

"I don't know what you mean," said Merlin quickly, looking down at the ground.

"There's something you should know Merlin, and that's you're a bad liar." Gaius told him sternly, "I thought I told you to be careful?"

"I was careful," Merlin lied again.

"I warned you the day you left that she was dangerous, do you realise what you have just walked into? If you break her heart—"

"I'm not going to break her heart Gaius," said Merlin, and this time he was telling the truth and his eyes told Gaius that he was being serious. "That's a promise. I'm happier when I'm with her, and she's happier with me. For the first time I feel like there is someone that truly understands me, and I feel complete with, how can I break her heart when she is part of it? I care about her more than anything else Gaius, if there's anything Gaius, she makes me happy, what's wrong with that?"

Gaius glared at Merlin for a long time, but in the end he gave in.

"All right then Merlin, but if anything goes wrong, don't say I didn't warn you." Said Gaius, he couldn't help but understand, he knew how Merlin felt.

"Is everything all right?" Feu asked, half way through devouring a whole loaf of bread on the table as Gaius and Merlin came back into the chamber.

"Everything's fine." Said Gaius with a quick smile, but he looked grim, and it wasn't just because he was trying very hard not to tell Feu that that's not the way to eat food in front of people.

For the next few minutes all three sat around the table in silence, though no one knew why and no one could think of much to say. It was a relief when there was a sudden knock at the door, breaking the silence. All three heads turned simultaneously to see Arthur standing in the doorway.

"My father has requested he sees you now Feu." Was all he said.


	32. Chapter 32

_Eurgh, is it possible for someone to develop a really bad sore throat within 3 hours? It seems the answer is yes! ):…Reviews make me feel better though…(:_

Chapter 32

"What exactly am I meant to say?" Feu asked as she followed Arthur down another corridor, empty but for a few wooden doors leading off into other rooms and some guards, standing motionless as they passed.

"He'll do most of the talking Feu, you just need to make sure you don't insult him." Arthur explained.

"And what makes you think I'm going to insult him?" Feu felt herself a little insulted by this as she quickened her pace to catch up with Arthur.

"Well you managed to do it quite easily with me." Arthur pointed out.

"That wasn't my fault, it's a different world out there, you weren't prepared for it, out there you're no longer a heroic Prince so you shouldn't expect people to treat you like one."

"I gathered that, but here I am a Prince, and he's the King. This is his land, so you have to treat him with respect. Only speak when you're spoken to and keep quiet."

"Oh you must have had a fun childhood." Feu murmured.

"He doesn't like sarcasm either," Arthur added. He looked round at Feu who was almost jogging to keep up with him, her face was stern and focused, but he could see in her eyes that she worried, "don't worry. You'll be fine." Arthur tried to assure her.

"Can't I have a little bit of company? Why couldn't Merlin or Gaius come with us?" Feu was usually perfectly fine being on her own, but this was no longer the world she was used to living in, this was very different. She didn't know what the King was going to be like, she wanted a friendly face to be there, some one comfort for her. She had never been in a castle; she had never met Kings…unless mad one counted.

"Because the King asked for a private meeting, so no one else will be in the room apart from you and him." Arthur explained, knowing that this was probably not going to help with Feu's worries.

"Not even you?"

"Well I'll see if I can persuade him if I can stay," Arthur said after a brief pause.

"I don't even see why he wants us to have a private meeting, unless he wants to pretend to the rest of Camelot that I don't exist."

"Well…"

"He does?" Feu was shocked, but she had to admit that people probably preferred pretending that she didn't exist.

"King Uther fears his people would disapprove of him bring in a magical creature when for years he has despised them." Arthur tried to explain, but this didn't help Feu's mood.

"Well, that just makes me feel a lot more confidant about this meeting then!" Feu snapped sarcastically, "what does he want to talk about in the first place?"

"About why you're here."

"But he knows why I'm here, he was the one who sent you and Merlin out to find me wasn't he?"

"Yes, but he hasn't actually met you yet and talked with you. He doesn't even know what you look like." Arthur pointed out as he led her down another corridor, and stopped abruptly so Feu almost ran into him. "It won't take five minutes of your time," he said as he knocked on a great wooden door.

"It's not the time I'm worried about," Feu mumbled under her breath, although she had a strong feeling it might be running out.

"Enter," said a grave voice from behind the door.

Arthur gave Feu a quick, almost comforting smile and opened the door for her. Feu hesitated for a few moments, glancing up nervously at Arthur, before entering. She walked into a large bare room, with think white pillars and a carved ceiling, in front of her sat the King on a grand chair, made of the same wood the door was probably made of, impressive, but age beginning to show. Usually the King would be in the Great Hall, sitting on his throne proudly, but the Great Hall was now for the injured; there was no room for him. Arthur stood by the door, watching Feu and waiting to be sent away, but his father said nothing, so he stayed.

Feu didn't take her eyes of the King as she kneeled before him, aware that this was probably the right thing to do. The silence seemed to echo around the room as Feu and the King stared at each other, each aware of the long years of hate they had for their kind. It was Uther who was first to break his gaze.

"Welcome to Camelot," he said, looking down at the floor, but Feu could see that his eyes looked tired and sad.

"It's an honour to be here," said Feu, but it didn't really sound as if she meant it, she didn't feel it either. At least the world she was in was better than her cave in the middle of the Dark Forest, where she sat alone for hours on end.

"I gather you know why you are here." Uther continued, still not looking up at Feu.

"Because you need my help," Feu replied, her stern, unblinking eyes still set on the King's face, which seemed to grow older the longer she looked at it.

"Yes." Uther said after a brief pause, before adding in a voice that sounded like a terrible confession: "A terrible curse has come upon this place."

"It is no curse, it is an Opinicus."

"Yet it has cursed my Kingdom," Uther was clearly distressed now, he sounded almost angry as he said those words. Unable to keep still he stood up, pacing up and down in front of Feu and gazing at the Castle walls.

"I can understand what it is like to have your home torn apart," said Feu. She thinking about the day that she realised her mother was gone and was never going to return. She may have been young, but her heart could still break.

"Yes I'm sure," thought Uther didn't sound so sure, there was another pause as he looked up at Feu again, something in his eyes and his tone of voice, told Feu that he was aware he had probably caused some of the damage in her life. "I'm sorry if it has. But you're now our last hope, the only person who can save my people."

"I'm the last resort," Feu said, more to herself than to Uther, she looked down at the floor as if she was looking down at a river, expecting to see her sad reflection. Then a thought jumped into her mind, and she said before she could stop herself: "it must have taken you a while to make the decision to come and find me. Seeming as you hate my kind."

A silence fell in the hall again, but this time it was worse, and seemed to last a lot longer. Feu knew that she shouldn't have said it, she could almost hear Arthur hold his breath, waiting for some sort of response, desperately hoping for her to apologise, but she stared up at Uther with a look of determination on her face. The King had authority, but so had she.

"I have good reasons to do so." Uther said eventually, he didn't sound angry, although he felt it, instead he sounded sad. "Not all magical creatures are good, some are determined on destroying what I have created here. Like the Opinicus. And now innocent people are suffering, and I cannot allow that to happen."

"Do you sometimes feel regret?" Feu asked, something else she knew she shouldn't say, but the question was burning inside her.

"I…yes, I have made mistakes. Everyone does." King Uther replied, looking down at the floor again. And Feu knew he wasn't lying, he was feeling regret at this very moment about what he had done in the past. Uther quickly changed the subject: "do you think you can defeat this creature?"

"I'll try my best. I'll talk to it at first, try to persuade to leave, if it refuses, then I'll have to use force." Feu had been thinking of this plan over and over again as she lay awake at night, gazing up at the trees around her, hoping against hope that perhaps she wouldn't have to fight the beast.

"You must understand how grateful I am for agreeing to help us."

"I can also not stand to see innocent people suffer," said Feu, she didn't question what Uther had just said, he truly sounded grateful. "But what's going to happen to me when the beast is gone?"

"You shall be allowed to stay at Camelot, if that is what you wish, and have my full gratitude." There was something in Uther's voice that told Feu that he perhaps didn't particularly want her to stay in Camelot, which didn't surprise her.

"And what if I die?" Feu asked, the question seemed to surprise Uther, as he looked straight into her eyes for the first time since she had walked in the room. "If I die, I don't want to be remembered as some sort of monster that everyone hated. I did not come here to be hated for the rest of time."

"I shall make sure that whatever happens, you are remembered with honour." Said Uther, and he sounded as if he meant it. "When do you think you can face the beast?"

Feu shrugged, "I'll have to wait until dusk, when it comes to Camelot."

"Could you do it tonight?" Uther asked, the mixture of hope and despair clear in his voice as he said this. "You must understand we cannot wait another night."

"Tonight?" Feu looked surprised, "yes, I suppose…"

"Good, tonight it shall be." Uther said, without waiting for a further response, he didn't seem to see the sadness in Feu's eyes. "For now you may rest, Gaius can take care of you, anything you ask for, you may have." He looked Feu up and down, "you may have the choice of some new clothes, my Ward won't be needing them for now." He added sadly.

"Thank you," said Feu, resisting the urge to demand what was wrong with the clothes she was wearing.

"You may go."

Feu stood up and, thinking quickly of what she should do, and made something that was a mixture between a bow and a curtsy, before leaving the room. Arthur followed her, closing the door, allowing his father peace and quiet to think, Feu would have liked to have done the same, but at the moment her mind was buzzing with just one word:

_Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight…_


	33. Chapter 33

_I put a couple of facts about Feu, i.e, stuff I made up because she was my 'creation' so-to-speak, on my profile, feel free to check them out if you're interested (: _

_I put this chapter up on Remembrance Day, so I'd just like to say that our heroes who died for freedom, will never be forgotten…_

_I have a rotten cold, but I think lots of reviews might make it go away…hehe (:_

Chapter 33

Merlin found Feu in Morgana's old chamber, looking through her wardrobe. The room had been left exactly as it was when Morgana had disappeared, as if there was some hope she might suddenly appear again like nothing had ever happened. Every-now-and-then a servant went into the chambers to get rid of the quickly settling dust and change the covers on the bed, as if Morgana was going to return at any moment. Merlin was surprised to see Feu going through Morgana's old clothes, and as Feu looked up she could see the surprise on his face.

"King Uther said I could have some of her old clothes," Feu explained, pulling out of the wardrobe a long, flowing blue dress. She admired these clothes, they were certainly very different from anything she had worn, the colours were so bright and vibrant, the patterns were so beautiful, the material felt different, soft in her hands, and there was so much detail sewn into them.

"You got on well with the King then?" Merlin guessed.

"Well," Feu thought for a moment, "it could have gone worse I suppose. I think Arthur wasn't too pleased with a few of the things I may have said."

"But you can't have made too many mistakes, as he's letting you borrow Morgana's clothes." Merlin pointed out.

"Yes, I think he's just grateful that I agreed to help. Is Morgana the one you told me about? The one you saw in the forest?"

"Yes."

"Thought so," Feu held the dress close to her face and smelt it. "She smells a bit like you, that sense of mystery and magic, but darker magic, not like yours. She reminds me a little of fire; she had a warm heart, but sometimes it burned too brightly and it caused damage. There was more than one side of her, and a whole range of different emotions, love and hatred and regret. She hasn't worn these clothes for a long time, and the smell's beginning to fade."

"That does sound like Morgana," said Merlin. "She was always a caring person, but by the end she did have a strong hatred for Uther and I was warned that there was a darker side to her."

"Everyone has a dark side." Said Feu, and a silence fell on the room. "Was she pretty?"

"Left most men speechless," said Merlin, smiling at the memory of when he first saw Morgana, and the whole room seemed to grow silent as everyone in the room turned to gaze at her. He didn't seem to realise that this was a strange question for Feu to ask.

"Did you like her?" Feu suddenly asked, almost suspiciously.

"She was a good friend to everyone." Merlin shrugged, slightly aware of what Feu was trying to get him to tell her something.

"Not in that context," she said sternly.

"Perhaps once, when I first saw her." Merlin admitted, gazing down at the floor to hide his embarrassment, he could feel Feu's eyes still watching him, and he looked up to face them with a smile on his face. "But that was a long time ago, and I never had feelings for her like I do for you."

"You must miss her." Feu replied, more gently this time.

"I will always miss her, she was a wonderful person. It's my fault that she's gone, and I don't think I'll ever forgive myself." Merlin said regretfully.

"What did you do?"

Merlin had sworn to himself that he would never tell anyone what happened on that fateful day, when he made one of the toughest decisions of his life. He knew everyone would hate him if he let the secret out. But he looked up into Feu's eyes and realised that he would trust her and tell her everything and anything. He already had.

"I tried to poison her."

"Because she had turned evil?"

"Because if I didn't, everyone else would die."

There was a short pause, Feu seemed to be thinking about something carefully, Merlin was beginning to feel nervous, but then she nodded. "I understand why you did it. You're a person who would make great sacrifices, but for only the right reasons." _And I forgive you, because you would forgive me. _Feu thought, then she realised that Merlin was staring at her, she didn't realise that she had an odd expression on her face. She quickly changed the subject: "how did you know I was in here?"

"Arthur said this is where I would find you." Merlin explained, "he didn't seem too pleased about the way things went at the private meeting."

"He never seems to be happy with anything I do, but as I said, it could have gone a lot worse. I did say some things that perhaps I shouldn't have."

"Like what?"

"I mentioned the fact that he hated my kind, which probably made him angry, but he knew it anyway, and he obviously doesn't like me, so why should I like him?" Feu suddenly became irritated, "he stinks Merlin!"

"What do you mean?"

"Uther, he smells of dead people, rotting corpses. Gold and death, that's what he smells like. Perhaps once he smelt differently once, but just spending a few minutes in the same room as him I felt like I was counting the number of people he had killed, hundreds of them, killed for no reason apart from his obsessive paranoia!" She saw the surprised expression on Merlin's face, and glared. "You can't deny it, you've seen it happen haven't you?"

"Yes." There was no point in trying to lie.

"What happened that made him so hateful towards our kind?" Feu asked.

"He lost the only person he ever loved, and he blamed his loss on magic, from then on he made us the enemy. For years anyone caught practising magic will be executed, he makes sure that there is no magic on his land. But now I can understand why he became the man we all fear." Said Merlin.

"What do you mean?"

"I wouldn't want to lose the only person I ever loved."

There was a long pause as Feu felt her heart filled with warmth as he said this, but at the same time filled with daggers. She didn't want to break Merlin's heart, but in a few hours time that was going to be exactly what she was going to do, she tried not to think about it, but the pain in her chest wouldn't go away.

"Why do you stay here Merlin? If he finds out who you are, he'll kill you. Why don't you leave? Why don't you run?" She asked him.

"Because it's not always going to be like this Feu. When Arthur becomes King magic will come back into the Kingdom and everything will change, I won't have to hide who I really am. I just have to wait for that moment to come." Merlin tried to explain, his voice rising with hope as he said this.

"But how can you be sure that that day will really come? You said you would protect me, but how can anyone be safe with a King like him? He's as bad as King Udin, he's forgotten how to care for anything."

"He does care," Merlin tried to convince Feu, "that's why you're here. He wants to protect his people, and he said he won't harm you. He's not a man that goes back on his word."

"I hope not," Feu mumbled, she put the blue dress back into the wardrobe and went to stand beside Merlin. "I don't need to change my clothes, I'm fine the way I look. I don't care what people think about what I wear."

Feu did look peculiar in her torn clothing, and she was the only woman in Camelot who was wearing trousers. But she knew little different, it seemed foolish to wear skirts and dresses in a forest, they would be torn apart in moments, as you tripped over them or snagged them on branches.

"I don't care what you wear, as long as you're you." Merlin told her.

Feu smiled and hugged him tightly, as if it was for the last time, Merlin hugged her back, unaware of what the future might hold. There was another long silence.

"Merlin, can I ask a favour of you?" Feu said quietly.

"Sure anything." Merlin told her with one of his comforting smiles that gave Feu her strength. "What is it?"

"Uther asked me to go and face the Opinicus tonight," Feu explained, drawing away from Merlin, she could see the look of surprise on his face as she said this. "I know it's soon, but you said that he wants to protect his people, and I don't think he can wait a moment longer. But when it happens, when I go out and face it, I want to go alone. I don't want anyone watching me and although I want someone to stand beside me it's too dangerous. I'm better off alone, always have been."

"Are you sure?" Merlin asked, concerned. "I could help."

"Positive, and I'm grateful for your help but I'd rather go alone. I don't want to put anyone in danger because of me, not again." Feu paused and looked deeply into Merlin's eyes. "I love you."

"I love you too." Merlin said, taking her by the hands, a little confused by this sudden outburst, but happy at the same time. "And I'll always be by your side, even if you can't see me or hear me, even if I'm really standing a hundred miles away."

Feu smiled again at this, but sadly. She had given Merlin her heart, but she was going to knock it out his hands and let it smash into a thousand pieces, and probably send his own crashing down with it. Merlin would blame himself, but it would be her fault.

Feu stretched up to kiss Merlin, she liked the fact that he was one of the few people who was taller than her. She hoped that somehow the kiss would stop his tears from falling, but she knew that it would be in vain.


	34. Chapter 34

_I have officially completed the first draft of my book Poppy Girl! :D :D 80,000 words and 152 pages! So happy right now! :D Aren't you glad that this story isn't that long? Or maybe it is, to be honest I haven't been keeping track…ANYWAY I'll let you read the chapter now, but I think we should all celebrate my Poppy Girl completion by reviewing…hehe (:_

Chapter 34

The sun sank slowly over Camelot; the colours of the sky broke from a calm blue and purple to a blood red. Feu leaned out of the window in Merlin's chambers and watched the sun as it became nothing than a small slit over the horizon and there was nothing but darkness above it. Stars were starting appear overhead, glittering on the black night. Now it was only a matter of time.

Feu had spent the rest of the day with Merlin, rarely straying from his side. If the Seer said that this was going to be her last day on Earth, she wanted to spend every passing moment with him. Gaius had left them alone, knowing that this was the best thing to do. Arthur didn't come to bother Merlin and Feu either, only once, in which Feu sensed him coming so they hid under the table and were almost caught by their stifled laughter, something that Feu thought she would never do on the last day of her life.

A long stretch of silence fell with the darkness. No one dared to go outside, for fear of the beast. Everyone was waiting for it to appear. As soon as Feu had thought this, she heard a great bell ring out into the darkness, a warning that the creature had been spotted, a warning that the creature was coming. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door, and Gaius and Merlin appeared. She knew what they were going to say, and she had been thinking everything over during the day, she knew what she was going to do.

"We can't let the creature come near the village, it's too dangerous." She said, before Merlin or Gaius could say anything. "I'll lure it out onto the fields, away from people, there I'll be able to talk to it."

"How do you know it's going to follow you?" Gaius asked.

"I'll be an easy meal for it, wandering outside in the dark. If it smells me it will know what I am, and curiosity will help me lead it to where I want it to be." Feu explained, trying not to give anything away through her voice or emotions on her face.

"Are you sure you want to go alone?" Merlin said, "we can come with you. There might be some way in which we could help."

Feu knew he was going to say this, and she shook her head: "I don't want anyone to get into any danger. You may walk with me through the City if that is what you wish, but as soon as we enter the fields I must be on my own, and you must turn back. Don't worry," she saw the worried look on Merlin's face, and gave a comforting smile. "I know what I'm doing."

It wasn't just Gaius and Merlin who walked through Camelot with her, as soon as they stepped out into the cold night air they were joined by Arthur, who refused to go back into the castle.

"I would much rather stay out here, I have to see this to the end." He told them grimly.

So Feu, Gaius, Merlin and Arthur found themselves standing together in the middle of a strangely empty City, motionless and silent, gazing up at the starry night. There was a chilling breeze in the air, but no one shivered. For a few moments everyone apart from Feu began to doubt that the creature would actually come, it had disappeared from the night sky. But no sooner as they had they thought this there was a terrible cry stretching across the sky. A giant bird-like form filled their vision, blocking out the twinkling stars and the moon. As soon as Feu heard the Opinicus' terrible shriek, and saw its huge shape loom above them, she turned her back on it and walked swiftly away. The Opinicus was heading for the castle, but saw the four figures out in the night, walking in the opposite direction, immediately it turned and followed them.

"Don't look at it," Feu hissed at her three companions as they walked hastily out of Camelot. She could almost feel the fear that covered the Kingdom like a mist, from every house that they passed a nervous face peered out into the darkness, before shrinking back. But neither Merlin, Arthur or Gaius seemed scared, and this gave Feu a little more comfort.

"Can it smell you?" Merlin whispered, resisting the urge to turn back and gaze at the sky, he knew the beast's shadow was hovering over him.

"I don't think so, but it will do soon." And Feu was right, for the Opinicus had not yet attacked them; it could smell that something was different about these people, curiosity kept it just behind them, watching, following and waiting.

No one in the group was sure how long they walked through the darkness, apprehension of what was about to happen stopped them from feeling the bitter cold, and the knowledge of the Opinicus constantly watching them made time pass with slow unease. Finally they made it out of the main City, and found themselves passing smaller villages and encountering more open spaces. Once Feu was sure that they were a safe distance away from the Castle, she stopped suddenly.

"This is as far as I will allow you to come with me, now you must turn back." She explained to Merlin, Arthur and Gaius, without looking at them.

"We can stay with you," Arthur suggested.

"I said that I wish to do this alone, and I will not change my mind. I will not let anyone else get hurt." Feu's voice was quiet, but her tone was firm

"Good luck," said Arthur, taking a quick glance up at the sky. The Opinicus had disappeared, "are you sure you know what you're doing?"

Feu nodded silently.

"Do you think you will be able to make peace with it?" A concerned Gaius asked.

Feu shrugged silently

After being unable to get anything else out of her, Gaius and Arthur wished her good luck, and made a slow retreat, but Merlin stayed for a few moments.

"I know you won't let me down. We'll come back and find you when this is all over." He said, taking Feu's hand. He could see from her face that she was anxious and scared, he wanted to comfort her, "and then you can do whatever you want, we can be together."

"Try not to get your hopes up," said Feu, and her dark mysterious eyes, which seemed to glow in the darkness, met his. "I love you, never forget that."

"Merlin!" A voice called suddenly behind them before Merlin could reply. It was Arthur, "what are you waiting for? We have to go."

Merlin didn't have time to say goodbye to Feu; he just gave her a hasty kiss and followed Arthur away into the darkness. At first he thought that they were going to go all the way back to Camelot, but they only retreated a few hundred metres when Arthur ducked behind an old wooden hut.

"Arthur?" Merlin whispered, "what are you doing?"

"You don't really think we're going to just leave her out there?" Arthur hissed back, "we're staying here to keep an eye on her, to see what happens!"

"Gaius will be—"

"It was my idea," said Gaius' voice from the dark shadows of the hut. "Now get down Merlin, or the beast might spot you!"

The old hut looked like a small house that seemed to stand in the middle of nowhere. It was completely empty apart from a few pieces of farming equipment and bails of hay. The three of them stood behind it, heads peering from around it and gazing into the darkness, they could bearly see anything apart from a small figure some distance away that was Feu.

Feu stood out in the darkness, all alone in the cold, she was beginning to shiver in the cold, watching intently for the Opinicus to appear. This one seemed to like trickery; it was going to let Feu wait, since she had let it wait while she walked out into the open fields.

There was a sudden call directly above her, and the creature swooped down, filling her vision for a few moments. Feu could smell its rotting breath, see the mass of feathers and the huge talons as it advanced. The creature landed in front of her almost gracefully, its hideous head peered out to give her a closer look.

"I haven't seen one of you for a hundred years." It said in a strangely calm voice that was tinged with hate and evil.

"I have never seen one of you, and yet I know who you are, and I know the tales that I have been told since I was a child." Feu replied, her cold eyes meeting its, "so should you Opinicus."

"Unfortunately I do, and it seems that is why you're here."

"I'm here because I want to know why are you're here. Why are you attacking these people? Your species were meant to be a peaceful race, sometimes even aiding mankind, the only dispute you ever had was with my kind. And yet here you are, killing more innocent lives as these dark days go by."

"I have been alive a lot longer than you Doe, and a lot longer than you ever will," said the Opinicus darkly. "You have not seen what I have seen. Once magic ruled this land, and although many did not like it, I did. I was happy, I had all my brothers, I even had my own family. Then suddenly an army came along, destroying everything that even uttered the word magic. My hatchlings were destroyed, and I was driven away with the rest of my brothers that managed to live. We lived high in the mountains, but my brothers couldn't live in such cold conditions, I watched them die around me. After that I swore to take revenge on Uther when the time was right. That time is now, and like him, I will show no mercy."

"I'm sorry," said Feu, and she actually meant it. "I'm sorry for what happened to your family, but these people you are killing have families and loved ones too and they had nothing against your kind. It was only Uther, and killing all these innocent people is not going to bring you peace, or bring back what you lost."

"You don't understand!" the Opinicus shrieked suddenly, as if it was in pain. "You have no idea what it's like to lose everything you live for. The only thing that kept me from throwing myself off those mountains was the thought that one day I might have my revenge!"

"I have lost my family too, I have no one, and yet I did not strive to kill anyone, so why should you?"

"You are nothing but a small little girl," said the Opinicus, lowering its voice and its head so they were face to face. "You cannot do anything because your family perished, but I can. And there is no one who can stop me."

"Except for me," Feu pointed out, and her eyes flashed green through the darkness. She knew the time had come. "Through all the anger you have gone through, surely you have not forgotten that whatever a Doe commands, you must obey. And I command you to leave this place, to leave these people in peace. Go where you wish, I do not care, just as long as it so far from Camelot that I can no longer smell your stinking feathers!"

"And what if I refuse?" Said the Opinicus calmly. "Will you try and make me leave this place by force?"

"Yes."

At first she thought that the Opinicus was going to laugh, something did flicker in its eyes that seemed like it found what she had just said very amusing. But the Opinicus did not laugh; instead it stood motionless for a few moments, staring down at her with a large, evil eye. Then it stood up tall, unfurling its wings as if to show its real power and strength.

"So be it," it said.

That was when Feu struck. She leapt up into the air, fangs and claws beard, and landed right on top of the Opnicus' face. She could see her reflection in its eye for a few moments, before its head violently shook from side to side, trying to shake her off, but Feu clung on with all her might. She raised a hand and slashed the Opinicus across the face. There was a spatter of dark blood and a shriek from the Opinicus. It shook its head more violently now, almost rising onto its hind legs. This took Feu by surprise and she lost her balance for a few moments, rolling off the head and just managing to clutch onto one of its wings.

That was when the creature took off into the black night, taking Feu with it. This took Feu by surprise as well, and it rose so high and so suddenly that she couldn't jump down. She would have to battle the creature in air, and that was what she died.

The screams from both creatures seemed to echo around the otherwise silent darkness.


	35. Chapter 35

_A bit of an angsty chapter, too angsty in my opinion, but I hope it's OK. Please review (:_

Chapter 35

"Merlin! Merlin come back!" The voice shouted from behind him, but Merlin ignored it, he just kept on running. He kept his eyes ahead, searching through the darkness, while his heart pounded in his ears, matching the rhythm of his feet as he ran.

He had just seen Feu and the Opinicus take up into the sky, twisting and turning as they went, locked in a heated battle. It could only be seen for a few moments before the bird flew off into the darkness of the night, taking Feu with it. Before the battle had begun nothing seemed to be happening, Merlin watched Feu and the creature through the night, they seemed to be talking to each other, but he didn't know what. Suddenly Feu had leapt onto the creature and the fight had begun.

A frosty silence had fallen around when the beast and Feu had disappeared. Merlin hoped that someone or something might return, but there was nothing. Merlin didn't know how long he had waited for something to happen, but now his patience was running out. He had to find out what had happened to Feu.

As soon as he left cover and started running through the field, Arthur had come running after him, trying to stop him, but Merlin was too fast for him. Arthur tried to convince him that it was too dangerous, the Opinicus could be anywhere, and they would have to wait until morning.

But the morning was too far away.

Merlin ran to the centre of the field, where Feu had encountered the Opinicus and the fight had begun. He felt something wet under his feet and looked down, even though it was still dark Merlin knew that it was not dew on the grass, it was blood. He gazed up at the sky, as if trying to remember which way Feu and the Opinicus had gone, but could see nothing but glimmering stars.

"FEU!" Merlin bellowed at the top of his voice to the sky, but he knew he wouldn't get a reply.

There was a sound of running footsteps behind him, and Merlin turned to see that Arthur had almost caught up with him.

"I'm sorry Merlin, but we can't stay out here it's too dangerous." Arthur tried to persuade Merlin.

"But she can't have just disappeared," said Merlin desperately as if he hadn't really heard what Arthur had just said. "She could be anywhere, maybe she needs help, maybe she's hurt. We have to go and find her!"

"There's nothing we can do Merlin, we don't even know where she went." Arthur pointed out, but Merlin was already walking away, gazing around to try and find some sort of sign that Feu and the Opinicus had been there. But there was nothing.

The sky was no longer black; other paler colours had begun to mix in with it and the stars had disappeared. The twilight gave everything a dark outline and giving them with grey and other dull colours. It seemed to have grown even colder, but at least things had become easier to see. Merlin continued to wander almost aimlessly around the empty fields with Arthur still following, but he had grown strangely quiet.

Suddenly Merlin spotted something on the grass, something dark and runny. He knelt down, already knowing that it was yet more blood. But from what?

"Merlin," Arthur said a little quieter this time, but there was a tinge of dread in his voice. He knew what Merlin had found; "we have to go back."

But it was too late to stop Merlin now; he stood up and began to run again. More patches of blood were appearing; he could see them clearer now as the sky grew lighter by the minute. Arthur was shouting his name again, but he kept on running.

Suddenly Merlin came to a stop, staring at what was in front him.

The Opinicus was lying dead on the grass before him, its wings still unfurled, eyes tight shut but mouth open as if it was in the middle of another of its terrible shrieks. Merlin was grateful he couldn't see the detail of the damage that had been done. He could just make out great scratches along its body and wings; its head was lying at an odd angle. It must have taken a great lot of strength and determination to bring the Opinicus crashing to the ground, resulting in its neck being broken. Merlin almost felt sorry for it, but he knew that Feu wouldn't have inflicted such an attack on the creature unless she was doing it for self-defence.

It was then that Merlin realised that Feu was still nowhere to be seen, and he began to panic. The air stank of blood and spices. She wasn't lying dead next to the Opinicus, but she couldn't have gone far, why would she wander off anyway? Perhaps she was heading back to Camelot now she had done what she was meant to do, but surely they would have seen her walk past? Or she would have heard Merlin calling her name.

"Where's Feu?" Merlin asked Arthur, "have you seen Feu?"

"I haven't seen her Merlin," said Arthur, he was giving Merlin a slightly worried look as if he was concerned that his friend was going mad. "You know I haven't seen her, I've been with you the whole time."

"But she's not here! She can't have just disappeared!"

"I'm sorry Merlin," said a voice behind him. Merlin turned and saw that Gaius had followed him and Arthur as they ran across the fields. His voice and face were full of sorrow, as if someone had just died.

"Sorry? What are you saying sorry for?" Merlin babbled, the truth was he didn't want to know what Gaius was apologising for.

"She's gone Merlin." Gaius told him gently.

"What do you mean gone?" But Merlin knew perfectly well what Gaius meant by that. "We can't just stand around here doing nothing. We have to go and find her, she must be somewhere!"

"She doesn't want to be found."

"Why doesn't she want to be found? You don't know that! She might need help, we have to help her!"

"Did she never tell you Merlin?"

"Tell me what!"

"When a Doe dies, it always dies alone. If they know they're going to die then they go away from the place where they've been living, so they won't be around other creatures, so they can die alone."

For a few moments, Merlin did nothing but stare at Gaius for a few moments, as if he couldn't quite understand what he was saying. The words 'die alone' seemed to hang in the air.

"No, no, no!" Merlin cried suddenly and desperately as burning tears built up in his eyes. "Feu's not dead! She can't be, she wouldn't leave me like this!"

"Well if she isn't dead, then why did she run?" Arthur pointed out.

The terrible atmosphere that was building up ever more in the air like a think fog was making Arthur grow upset and angry. He didn't want to have this conversation, he didn't want to outside in the cold any more, with a dead creature and the image of Feu lying dead. Merlin refused to believe the image in his head, and he was going to stay outside for as long as possible, the atmosphere seemed to be making him feel upset as well:

"I don't know, but that's why we have to go and find her! She wouldn't just die and leave me all alone!" Merlin cried out.

"Oh for goodness sake Merlin snap out of it!" Arthur shouted suddenly. "Stop trying to deny it, it'll just make thing's worse! Feu's not coming back, she's dead!"

"Stop saying that!" Merlin snapped, but Arthur wouldn't.

"That creature's making you go mad Merlin, you can't persuade yourself that someone's alive when they're not!"

"She's not a creature! And she's not dead!"

"Merlin—" Arthur began, trying to control his anger, but he had already snapped, and there was no holding back any more emotions. He tried to think of something else to say anything, to make Merlin at least see sense. But Merlin wasn't having any of it.

"No! Shut up!" Merlin shouted, backing away from Arthur with an almost dangerous look in his eyes. "You don't know, you'll never know how it feels when you lose someone you love. You don't care about her, you don't care about anyone apart from yourself!"

"That's not true!" Arthur argued.

"It is true, you didn't even like her!"

"No—for goodness sake Merlin why don't you just listen to me!" Arthur said, he tried to grab Merlin to try and stop him from running off into the dark again, after Feu.

"Get off me!" Merlin shouted, pulling away from Arthur, anger building up inside him. Before he knew what he was doing, he raised a fist in his defence and hit Arthur squarely on the jaw.

Arthur stumbled back, surprised by Merlin's sudden strength and sudden attack; and Merlin was just as surprised as he was. The force of the punch hadn't broken his jaw, but it had made his teeth slice down onto his bottom lip. Arthur could taste the blood; he raised a hand to his mouth and saw in the dim light of the slowly dawning day bright red drops on his fingers.

"You…" Arthur began, if he hadn't been angry before, he was now. He began to advance threateningly towards Merlin.

"That's enough!" Said a voice suddenly.

Arthur and Merlin had almost forgotten that Gaius was there. He had said nothing, wanting to wait until one of them began to calm down and see sense, but he too was shocked about what had just happened and was worried that it would end in a fight. But the punch seemed to have made Merlin see some sense.

"I'm sorry," Merlin began, staring at Arthur and backing away slowly as if he was afraid of him. "I, I need some time on my own." And with that he turned and ran from the blood stained fields.


	36. Chapter 36

'Never thought  
This day would come so soon  
We had no time to say goodbye  
How can the world just carry on?  
I feel so lost when you are not at my side  
But there is nothing but silence now  
Around the one I loved  
Is this our farewell?'

- Within Temptation, Our Farewell.

Chapter 36

Merlin sat in his chambers. Alone. He didn't know how long he had been sitting on his bed; head in his hands. As soon as he entered his chambers reality seemed to hit him, and he fell to his knees, shaking with shock, anger and sorrow. Merlin wasn't sure how he managed to get back to his feet and sit on his bed, but he knew that he wouldn't be moving again for a while, it was like he was frozen in time.

No one had entered the chambers since Merlin had been there. They would know this was where he would be, but it seemed that they hadn't dared to enter. It was better that way; he didn't want to hurt anyone again. He didn't want any comfort, because there was nothing anyone could say to offer him the least bit of comfort. Merlin felt like he had fallen into a dark pit and no one would be able to help him crawl out.

Dawn had finally broken, and the sun was shining warmth over Camelot, but to Merlin it felt cold. Outside the Kingdom was coming to life, but inside it was dull and quiet, just the thoughts running through Merlin's head to keep in company. How could the world carry on now Feu was gone? It was because no one cared, no one even knew the name of the hero that had just saved them from the horrors of the beast. And even if anyone did know who she was they would soon forget, Merlin had a destiny, he would be remembered forever, but Feu would be forgotten. People would carry on with their normal lives as if nothing had changed. But something had, a great hole was missing from Merlin's heart. A dark abyss he couldn't help but sink into.

Uther was probably holding a celebration that the beast was now dead and the people of Camelot were free, but for Merlin there was nothing to celebrate about, nothing to be happy for. He didn't want to go to any celebrations, he would refuse to go if anyone told him to go. He just wanted to be alone.

Every time Merlin thought of Feu he felt as if his heart had been stabbed a hundred times and the pain grew worse and worse. What would he do without her? She had gone and left him forever. But there was one thing even worse than this, that Merlin had only just realised. She knew! Feu knew all along that she was going to die, it had been obvious. That was why she was so reluctant to go with them back to Camelot, and she had hinted it to him once or twice but he hadn't really stopped to think about it. Feu knew she was going to die and he let her go without a second thought. But perhaps she didn't want to him to know, because if he did, he wouldn't have let her go, and then Camelot would be doomed. Feu had a kind heart, and she put her life in front of others, she deserved to be remembered, just for that.

Merlin couldn't stop playing scenes over and over again in his head. An image of Feu crashing to the ground along with the scream of the Opinicus, her stumbling away from the broken body, collapsing on the grass watered by her own blood. Staring up at the stars as the light faded from her eyes and she died. Alone. The very image in his mind made Merlin flinch. The worst thing was about this image was that she died alone, she didn't have to die alone, he should have been there with her, if she had to die, she should have died in his arms.

Merlin didn't even get the chance to say one last goodbye.

And it was all his fault! Who agreed to come with Arthur to find Feu? Who persuaded her to come back with them to Camelot, not thinking about whether she would live or die? Who let her go out all alone to face her certain death? Who had failed to find her? Feu could still be out there, lying in the grass in so much pain as her life drifted away before her. Merlin could go out there and find her; he could use magic to save her!

No, it was too late. It was better if Feu was dead now, she was in a better place, and she wouldn't be in any more pain.

But part of Merlin was refusing to accept the fact that Feu was dead. He heard footsteps and for a fleeting moment thought it was her, but then there was another crushing sensation inside of him that reminded him that Feu will never come back. Like Gaius said, she was gone. Feu had left to die alone; she didn't want to come back.

The door opened with a creak, but Merlin didn't look up. He assumed it probably was Gaius, he had come back from whatever he had been doing and was now probably going to attempted to give some sort of comfort. But Merlin didn't want comfort, nothing anyone would say would help, he preferred to be alone.

Silent footsteps walked towards him, and that was when Merlin thought that perhaps this wasn't Gaius, he would have already said something. Perhaps it was Arthur…no that was even worse, he really didn't want to speak to Arthur, he had punched him in the face, he was probably going to get arrested for that! Why didn't anyone just leave him alone? He just wanted peace.

But something told him it wasn't Arthur either, yet it was someone he knew so well.

The figure stepped closer.

The smell of spices filled the air.

"Hello Merlin," said a voice. "Did you miss me?"

**THE END**

_Den den deern! That's right people, that's the end! It's finally over…or is it?_

_As you can see I've left the door wide open for a sequel, and I've got some ideas for it too, it's going to be called The Taste of Revenge (ooooh). But I don't want to write a sequel if no one's going to read it, so I just want to know if you're interested in the sequel and haven't got fed up with me yet. (: You can let me know whichever way you want, via review, PM, or a green dancing gnome (let's face it, reviewing or PM are probably the easier options…). And please don't think "yeah I'd like to read more, but I can't be bothered to waste 30 seconds reviewing" because then how do I know you want to read more? I haven't perfected the art of mind reading…yet (muhahaa). I will do a reply to every review, but anonymous reviews are welcome too (: _

_If I do write a sequel, it will be coming up sometime…next week hopefully (: Watch this space, I'll be putting up the prologue on this story to tell you all it's here!_

_Just like to say a quick thanks to Kitty O and Connortemple4evaneva for their regular reviews, and Gina Frodo H for her reviews, drawing and ability to survive through conversations about this fic! (: you guys rock! Xxx_

_Well, before I make this author's note as long as the chapter, I'll have to say that's it for now folks. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy. Don't forget to review, just one last time, even if it's just to say what you think of this chapter, a sequel, or the story overall, because I looooove reviews (:_

_I think that's everything, just to say thanks again, and I hope to be putting up the sequel soon! (:_

_xxx_


	37. The Taste of Revenge

_Heey everyone! Just putting this up to say there is officially a Smell of Spices sequel! It's already up, and is called 'The Taste of Revenge' . Check it out if you please :D Below is the prologue/first chapter of the sequel, hope you enjoy! And hope that you'll be reading The Taste of Revenge soon! (: xxx_

Chapter 1

Darkness settles all around, like a terrible, thick layer of dust. In hangs in the air, reaching every corner. The forest seems to fall strangely silent, as if it is waiting for the night to pass. It is so silent, no one would think there was another living creature around, but there was one.

Samar didn't mind how he was surrounded by complete darkness of the night, he liked it, he felt most comfortable when he was lurking in the shadows. The darkness even matched the colour of his eyes and his hair. If anyone saw the spark dancing in his eyes through the darkness, they had a right to be afraid. Samar smiled at the thought, he liked plunging people into living nightmares, and sometimes he let them live just so he could laugh at them when they ran screaming. Samar didn't mind being alone either, he liked being a solitary creature hiding away, sitting in the darkness alone suited his personality. Samar smiled darkly as his dark thoughts.

But some things just weren't the same any more; Samar missed the times where he could do whatever he wanted. He was ancient now, even though he only looked as if he was in his early thirties, but most of the change he had seen had only happened in the past twenty years. Suddenly_ he_ should be the one who felt afraid; suddenly _he_ was the potential victim. Suddenly Samar no longer felt immortal and suddenly it was not a choice to travel around, it was a necessity. This Samar did not like. He felt like he was under someone's control, and this he hated.

Lingering beneath the trees of the forest with nowhere to go, it was a terrible way to spend the night when he could be running through the trees, the wind in his face, using his magic, or causing some other sort of trouble. But instead Samar found himself doing nothing, just sitting in the darkness, waiting for a hunter to cross his path and mistake him for a deer, or see him for what he really was, and try to shoot. But the forests around Camelot were silent this night; Samar assumed that there was probably another curfew on. The forests on the outskirts of Camelot was about as far as Samar dared to go when it came to Camelot, because the people there did not fear his kind, they hated it.

With a deep sigh that sounded more like a frustrated grunt, Samar rubbed his face with his hands, as if he was trying to keep himself awake. He looked down at his hands; he could just see them through the darkness, and gazed at the two missing fingers on his right hand. That was another thing that had changed over the twenty years, and it was the first time he had ever been injured because of something he tried to do, it was the first time he had failed. The very memory made Samar feel furious.

Samar ran his hands through his sleek black hair, something he always did when he was trying to control his anger. He gazed turned to the distant flickering lights of Camelot, and suddenly Samar felt himself smiling.

Samar was not a Seer, but his father was distantly related to one, and sometimes he felt a small amount of this power bubbling beneath his skin. He was feeling it now. Change was coming, and this time it was going to be for his benefit, like the good old days. Samar grinned, showing the world his pearl-white teeth, how long had he been waiting for the taste of revenge? And it seemed the time had finally come. But he had to be patient, he was not needed yet.

With another horrible smile, Samar turned his attention to Camelot.


End file.
